


Not That Kind of Fairy Tale

by covarla



Series: The Truth Between Legends and Lies [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Stiles, Derek is Not a Failwolf, Everyone Is Alive, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mystery, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-04-26 07:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 72,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4996702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/covarla/pseuds/covarla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The stories all said that special people and magical creatures lived deep in the woods and Stiles believed the stories. He just hadn't known which kind of story it was yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The first time Stiles saw the Hale house, he'd thought it was a mansion.  Granted, he had been five at the time and hadn't seen that many homes for comparison.  His mother had taken him along with her while she visited her co-worker, Talia.  He remembered staring up at the big house set apart from the rest of the town in the middle of the forest and thinking that it was like something out of a fairy tale.  The building was too plain to be a palace, no marble staircases or golden statues.  It didn't have the stone walls necessary for a castle, but it could be a mansion with it’s three floors of sprawling rooms.  And, there had been so many people living in the house... He'd lost track of how many he was introduced to in a blur of Hales.  His mother had excused his quiet staring as shyness, but Stiles had spent the entire time trying to figure out what the Hales were.  The stories all said that special people and magical creatures lived deep in the woods and Stiles believed the stories. He just hadn't known which kind of story it was yet.

As he got older, the question stuck with him.  There were more visits to the Hale house with his mother and play dates with the kids his own age.  In his mind the Hales became a family of witches protecting the forest and healing injured creatures.  Except, when he looked around the house there was only a small herb garden and the only ones who used it were Grandma Vera and Peter.  Stiles’s mom had a better garden.  When she was out among her flowers, Claudia practicality glowed with happiness and the plants mirrored that glow.  Talia couldn't even keep the fern in her office alive.  And, there weren't any pets, familiars, or even tamed forest creatures hanging around.  He wasn't in the same class as Cora at the time, but he'd heard rumors that her class's guinea pig had never been the same after her weekend taking it home.  So, he decided that witches were definitely out.

The Hales were too big to be dwarves, too small to be giants.  They were tall and attractive enough to be elves, definitely supernaturally attractive, but they lacked the pointed ears and agelessness.  He'd seen them out in sunlight, so vampires were ruled out.  None of them seemed to be under any kind of curse.  There weren't any magical servants, invisible or otherwise.  Their tea cups and candlesticks didn't talk.  He'd checked.  Twice.

But, even if there wasn't anything magical about the Hales that he could prove, he was certain that the forest they lived in was enchanted.  When he walked in the woods, the sounds of the town and people just dropped away.  His normal unending energy and chatter melted into calm.  He could walk in the woods for hours, just listening to the birds and reveling in the peace around him.  He'd loved those woods growing up.

Even more than the woods, or because of them, he’d loved the Hales like a second family.  Whenever his mom visited Talia, he would beg to come along.  Claudia and Talia would hole up in the kitchen with mugs of tea and papers spread over the table and Grandma Vera would take him for a walk in the woods.  Sometimes the other kids would come.  They'd play tag or hide and seek and the forest would echo with laughter.  He remembered the forest as a magical, lively place, full of flickering wisps of light and half-seen creatures that he was sure were there, sharing in their laughter.  Sometimes it would just be him and Vera, walking quietly.  The forest would be still and silent except for the sounds of nature. They would walk for what felt like hours with only the sound of their heartbeats.  The other Hales never believed Vera that he'd been quiet the entire time, but she'd just wink at his mom and smile.  It was like a secret between the three of them.

Stiles learned to lie at the age of seven.  He'd made the mistake of telling Scott about the creatures he saw in the forest where one of his teachers could hear.  Stiles hadn't thought anything about it.  His parents and Scott were always amused by his stories.  But he'd heard the teacher use words like "hallucinations" and "delusions".  There'd been a trip to see a psychologist.  Of course he told the doctor that he'd been making the story up just to make Scott laugh.  He left the office with a note for his school reassuring them that he was perfectly sane and a shiny new ADHD diagnosis.  He never told anyone what he saw in the forest again.  He stopped looking for the magic he'd thought was there.

Then his mom had gotten sick and he stopped visiting the Hales.  Instead, he read everything he could about her condition.  At eight years old he probably knew more about frontotemperal dementia than most medical students.  Every day he buried himself in science that told him the odds of his mother living another decade, or even another year.  Yet, he'd clutch her hand through endless rounds of treatment and prayed with every ounce of faith he could muster to any deity that he thought might help.  While she closed her eyes to rest, he'd clench his eyes shut, concentrate with all he had, and wish.  He'd wear himself out until he fell asleep hunched over in his chair.  And she would get better, have more energy, smile more. First it was a day, then two, then a week.  He almost started to think his wishing was working.  Until she stopped letting him touch her.  Until the dementia turned on him and convinced Claudia that her son was trying to kill her.

The summer after his ninth birthday, his mom spent more time in the hospital than not.  The Hales were there too, keeping his mom company while his dad was at work or when Mrs. McCall made them go home to sleep.  Vera and Talia were there most often, but sometimes it was Talia's husband, David, or her brothers,  Peter and Mark.  He remembered being half asleep in one of the awful plastic chairs as Talia and his mom leaned in close and whispered things they didn't want the nurses to hear, taking advantage of Claudia’s lucid moments when they could. Usually it was about cases his mom had been working on, legal documents spread out on the bed with case files as they spoke about trials Claudia had prepared for but wouldn’t be able to attend.  But sometimes it was other things. Things like Mom asking Talia to watch over him, protect him as he grew older, take care of him if anything unusual happened.  If Stiles had been more awake, he would have passed it off as his mom’s paranoia.  Instead, he had the image of the Hales with capes, posing dramatically on the Gotham City skyline. He remembered his childhood speculation and thought,  ‘Not witches, knights’, before falling asleep.  They certainly had looked like knights at the funeral in suits and dresses so rigidly pressed they could be armor, forming a solid wall between the remaining Stilinskis and the rest of the crowd.

Stiles's first concrete evidence that the Hales were unusual came during a sleepover when he was ten.  Dad was working another long night shift to avoid the empty house.  Scott and his mom were staying with Melissa's parents for a while, coping with the divorce. So, Stiles had been invited over to stay with the many Hale children.  He remembered staring at the ceiling, not able to sleep with a feeling of dread clenching around his heart and trying to fend off a panic attack.  Then, Peter was there shaking Albert awake and saying something about a fire.  Stiles hadn't even smelled the smoke.

Before he could give in to the panic, Peter was carrying them downstairs, moving with more speed and ease than should have been humanly possible while carrying a child under each arm.  Peter had thrust his son at Stiles, pushed them towards the door, and turned back inside as if the growing flames couldn't hurt him.  Cora was already there, her younger sister and cousin each holding a hand as they all ran for the door.  Stiles remembered several things about that night vividly.  He remembered stumbling at the threshold,  Albert's immovable grip being the only thing that kept him standing, the look of horror on the other boy's face as he just froze in the doorway, a sudden dizziness followed by a release of pressure in Stiles's head, tugging at Albert's hand and getting them all moving again, and the look of relief on Cora's face as she stumbled out with her family behind her. Time slowed to a stop as they waited for more Hales to come out.  Talia's brother Mark carried his pregnant wife out without seeming to notice the weight.  Nor did Derek seem the least hindered by carrying Grandma Vera.  Oddest of all were the huge trunks Talia and Peter carried out with them.  Despite being the last two to leave, they didn't have a single burn when he hugged them later.

He remembered his father yelling at them for risking their lives for some old books, even as he thanked them for keeping Stiles safe.  By then the adrenaline had worn off and Stiles had been slumped over, huddled against Vera and more asleep than awake.  He'd been unable to raise the energy to point out that they'd made sure the kids were all safe first.  Or that he would need a new copy of the book he'd lent to Albert.

After that, he remembered his dad bringing the full fury of the law down on the arson suspects.  He may not have been Sheriff yet, but there had been nowhere for Kate Argent and her allies to hide after almost killing a deputy's kid.  She led the force on a chase through the twisting country roads before it was over. No one ever commented on how it was ironic that the arsonist died in a fiery crash, but he was sure they thought it.  

Two things happened after that. The remaining Argents had some kind of falling out that led to most of them leaving town and Stiles insisted that all future sleepovers took place at either his house or Scott's.

He didn't seen much of the Hales after that.  They couldn't have anyone over while their house was being rebuilt and Stiles was spending most of his free time trying to keep Scott's mind off of his father’s absence, usually with endless rounds of video game violence.  He didn't need a babysitter anymore and without Claudia there wasn't any excuse to just stop by.  He saw the younger Hales at school, but he wasn't close to any of them.  Cora was in his grade, but not in any of his classes and Veronica and Albert were two years below them.  Then, high school happened and it was just Cora and her older brother Nicolas.  Stiles had classes with Cora occasionally.  She was still nice to him, would ask how he and his father were, but it quickly became clear that she'd been chosen by their classmates as one of the popular elites.  He and Scott had not been.

His freshman year, he talked to Nicholas more than Cora.  Scott had convinced him to join the lacrosse team, which Nicholas co-captained.  The older Hale always took the time to give the new players pointers after practice.  Nicholas even took time to give them tips about their classes and which teachers to avoid.  His presence kept bullies like Jackson on short leashes.  But, he had his own friends.  They didn't hang out outside of school.

Not that the Hales completely cut them out of their lives.  There were enough Hales that it was impossible to leave the house without running into one of them.  And his Dad and Talia still tried to stay friends, probably as a way of remembering his mom.  There were cases tried together and the occasional work function.  The Stilinski's were invited to Laura's high school graduation party, then Derek's, then Nicholas'.  They spent less time at each party.  There were too many people there, too much of a contrast to their quiet house, too many reminders of Claudia and how things had been.  Dad wouldn't even let him slip off for a walk in the woods with Grandma Hale so he could wallow in the horror that would be high school without Nicholas's protection.

By the time he was a sophomore year, Stiles had given up on the idea that he would be popular.  He didn't try to talk with Cora lest he bring down her popularity by association.  He was the spastic kid who read comic books and science journals with equal interest.  His only close friend was Scott, who while adorable as a puppy was also a bit socially awkward.  Neither of them were good at sports.  They barely made second string on the lacrosse team.  His crush on Lydia Martin was public knowledge thanks to Jackson, though his crush on Danny stayed thankfully private.  Stiles didn't get invited to parties.  He had his Jeep, but it had clearly seen better days and was not a ridiculously expensive douchemobile like Jackson drove.  In short, he was resigned to a life of utter mediocrity (minus a highlight of being Valedictorian at graduation, unless Lydia decided she wanted it), until he turned 16.  Then, his story changed.

 

 


	2. 16 is Too Young to Become a Hermit

Stiles sank down on the couch and flipped aimlessly through channels. He managed to sit still for all of five minutes before his legs began twitching. He shook out his hands, rolled his shoulders, shifted positions. Nothing made the electric itch that had plagued him all day stop. It was Saturday and his homework was done. His homework for the next week was done. He should be sleeping in, relaxing, enjoying his freedom, not twitching like a meth addict. Stiles glanced at the clock. Five o'clock. Scott should be out of work by now. His phone was in his hand before he even realized he'd reached for it. He blinked in confusion for a second before shaking his head. Five minutes and two text messages later and he was jumping up off the couch. 

He managed to obey the traffic laws on the way to Scott's. His dad was the Sheriff after all. It wouldn't do to get pulled over and then have to hear about it from every one of the deputies. Stiles hopped out of the Jeep as soon as it stopped. He waved at Mrs. McCall as he passed through the house, taking the steps two at a time up to Scott’s room. A little bit of his tension melted as soon as he had some company, someone to distract him from the burning in his veins. Scott smiled at him from his seat on the floor before throwing a controller at him. Stiles grinned as he sank down in his usual spot next to Scott. He waited while Scott switched the game from single player to versus mode. There was a brief pause as they selected characters, then Stiles’s Batman pitted himself Scott’s Superman for round after round of animated combat. 

Scott must have been practicing, because he was actually holding his own today. But, Stiles was still better. His fingers mashed frantically through the combo that should score him another victory. He leaned forward intently, biting his lip in concentration. Suddenly, there was a spark under his fingers. They both let out yells of frustration as the screen went black. Stiles resisted throwing the controller in frustration, really resisted the urge. Setting down the controller with exaggerated care, he thumped his head back against the bed while Scott leaned forward to check his beloved game system. Thankfully it came back on after a few moments. 

“Sorry, man,” Scott said apologetically. “There must have been a power surge or something.”

Stiles sighed. The game had distracted him from his anxiousness, but it hadn’t dissipated it any. He knew his fidgeting had to have distracted Scott, though his friend was kind enough not to complain. Stiles pushed himself up to his feet. “Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested. Stiles shook his arms slightly to try to get the electric feeling out of them. He was tempted to suggest going for a run, but he didn’t want to risk setting off Scott’s asthma. Scott gave him a look, but shrugged and motioned for Stiles to lead the way.

“Scott, be back before supper,” Melissa called as Stiles led the way out the back door. He heard Scott answer an affirmative behind him, but Stiles wasn’t paying attention. His feet took him onto the path that led towards the woods. They passed a few houses, but thankfully there were no other people on the path. The closer they came to the woods the more relaxed he became.

“Your dad give you anything exciting for your birthday?” Scott asked as they walked.

“Amazon gift card, cake, the usual.” Stiles shrugged. “I’ve known about the Jeep since he got it, so it’s not like I was expecting anything big.”

Scott bounced along the path beside him. “I can’t wait until I turn 16 and can finally drive.” His friend smiled. “I’m going to save up to get a bike.”

Stiles snorted. “You, a bike?” He chuckled at the affronted look on Scott’s face. “I’m not sure if either of us can pull off that level of cool.” Scott punched him on the shoulder, but Stiles caught the small smile twitching his lips. “You might be able to swing it, but I’ll stick with my beat up Jeep.”

They walked in silence. When the sky began to grow dark, Stiles turned around and headed back towards town. He breathed in the rich scents of the forest, savoring it while it lasted. He didn’t know why he didn’t come out here more often. There were so many trails like this touching the preserve and running through it. Maybe he should start running, actually try to get in shape for lacrosse. It would certainly help with the excess energy. He could almost feel the extra energy bleeding off of him to sink into the ground as they walked. He actually did feel better, more like himself. By the time they got back to Scott’s house, he was at his normal level of ADHD and no longer ready to bounce off the walls. 

The peace lasted for almost a full week. Friday afternoon had him practically vibrating in his chair. Stiles glanced at the clock for the hundredth time. Only one more period and then he was free for the weekend. As soon as the bell rang, he was out the door and into the hall. He dodged through the crowd to his locker. Stiles was so focused on his goal that he almost didn’t see Jackson coming towards him. His gaze connected with Jackson when he was too close to duck out of the way. There was a smirk on Jackson’s lips and a lidless cup full of ice and soda in his hands. Jackson’s eyes followed Stiles’s and his smirk grew. Stiles braced himself for the splash and a period of sitting in sticky clothing. He flinched as Jackson’s arm pulled back. Then, Jackson tripped over nothing and went sprawling on the floor. The soda spilled across the floor, but miraculously missed Stiles entirely. He froze for a minute, amazed by his luck, then darted away. He slammed his locker open, shoved things into his bag and then slammed it closed. He was safely in his next classroom before Jackson could even pick himself up off the floor.

Stiles took a deep breath, and then another to try to calm his racing heart. He nodded at Scott as he slid into the seat next him. They unpacked their English books and notebooks while the rest of the class shuffled in. Unsurprisingly, Scott’s pen went flying, skidding across the floor. Stiles reached to stop it, but he knew it was hopeless even as he leaned down. He saw it already rolling in the opposite direction, towards the front of the class. Before Scott could even rise from his seat to go chasing after it, Stiles felt the pen in his hand. They both stared at it in surprise for a second before Scott accepted the pen with a shrug and settled back into his seat. Then, old Mrs. Jenkins walked in and began talking about the book they were reading and the pen was forgotten. She managed to distract Stiles from his jitters for a whole ten minutes before his legs start bouncing. He was very glad he’d already finished the book they were discussing because he didn’t think he could remember what was said in class if his life depended on it. 

He barely remembered leaving school and driving home. There was a relentless buzzing in his veins. He felt like he was going to vibrate right out of his skin. He raced up the stairs just to get some of the energy out. Stiles threw his bag onto his bed. He went towards his computer, but endless reddit surfing just didn’t appeal to him today. He changed direction mid-stride and headed for his bookshelf, then changed his mind again to head to his closet. Stiles shucked off the clothes he wore to school in favor of some comfortable sweatpants and an old t-shirt. He tucked his phone in his pocket as he jogged back down the stairs and out the door. Earbuds in and music blaring, he took off onto the path behind his house at a run. For a while the path skirted the edge of forest and town before finally turning into the preserve. As the trees closed around him, Stiles settled into a steady pace. His breathing evened out. His muscles relaxed. 

It was dark when he finally made his way back to the house. Stiles let himself in through the back door and sniffed the air. There was a pizza box on the kitchen table and what sounded like a game on the TV. Stiles poked his head into the living room. “Hey Dad, I’m going to get a quick shower then I’ll be down to eat.” His dad acknowledged him with a wave from the recliner. Stiles paused with a foot on the stairs. “There better be vegetables on that pizza.” 

The buzzing caught him again a week later on Friday morning. Thankfully, he was able to make it through the rest of Chemistry class, despite Harris’s glaring every time he moved. Lunch was a relief. At least then he could convince Scott to eat outside. He leaned his back against a tree, away from the rest of the student body while Scott cast him worried glances. His eyes closed, Stiles tried to relax, slow his breathing. It worked, for a whole minute. Stiles felt like his ADHD was on overdrive, like he’d missed weeks of doses. It got worse as the day wore on. 

He felt like he was hyper-aware. Colors seemed brighter, sounds louder, but it was all jarring. He barely said goodbye to Scott after the last class, bolting for his Jeep and flying out of the parking lot. Stiles didn’t even bother to change. He left his bag in the Jeep and sprinted up the path. His phone rang in his pocket, but he ignored it. He ran and ran until he was deep in the forest. Until the sounds of town and people faded away and there were only birds and the wind. There, finally, the buzzing calmed. Stiles collapsed back against a tree. He took in deep shuddering breaths as he tried to figure out what was wrong with him. Problem was, he didn’t have a clue what was happening to him. 

Stiles spent the next week in a state of constant vigilance. Unfortunately, all his observation showed him was an alarming number of instances where it seemed like he was either losing tiny chunks of memory or hallucinating. He'd be looking for something and it'd be in his hand without any memory of finding it. He'd brace for hits from errant lacrosse balls that never came. Jackson tripped any time he tried to shove Stiles into a locker. And there was the almost constant buzzing that Scott couldn't hear. When put together with his family history, frontotemporal dementia seemed like a logical answer. The ensuing panic attack after that thought would surprise no one.

And yet, it didn't quite match. He had no problems reading. His memory was fine, even if he was more distracted than even his ADHD accounted for. His grades were proof that his brain was working fine. Not as stellar as they could have been, but still quite good for someone working up the nerve to ask his dad to get him an MRI. No paranoia or auditory hallucinations. Plus, he was fine as soon as he was in the forest. Unfortunately, things like family and school prevented him from going out into the woods all the time.

Stiles was looking forward to the upcoming end of the school year more than he ever had before. He knew his dad was worried about Stiles disappearing into the woods as soon as he got home from school each day. He had only managed to convince his dad that he had a new fitness routine because he did actually run every time he went. But his dad worried, as did Scott. He had to spend twice the time he normally did studying for finals in order to retain any of what he read, but he had no lack of energy. He just didn’t seem to need as much sleep anymore. He ran in the morning and the afternoon the week of finals, just to make sure he stayed sane long enough to pass his classes. 

With finals over and school out, Stiles was able to maintain more of an appearance of normality. He was able to vary the timing of his runs so that they coincided mostly with his dad’s work schedule. He could run for longer when he did go, spending hours out in the woods and then being able to go almost two days before the buzzing started again. He devoted all his time not spent running or with his Dad or Scott to researching his symptoms. He almost beginning to worry that he would have to move into the woods permanently, become some crazy hermit, but then the internet saved him.


	3. Magical Training Montage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you following this story, I just wanted to let you know that there will not be a set schedule for updates. I will be posting chapters as I finish them, which means that there may be one right after another or there may be a couple weeks between chapters. Thank you to everyone who has left kudos so far! I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.

Magic.

Actual, bibbity bobbity boo, fairies and witches and druids, hocus pocus Magic.

At first he didn’t believe it. No matter how accurately his symptoms matched, he wasn’t going to take the word of some random guy on a mythology blog that magic existed. He shut his computer down and went for a run. Magic wasn’t real. But…

The woods were quiet as he ran. He felt his tension drain away into the dirt and the grass and the trees and he had to wonder if maybe… Maybe there was something to the idea. It certainly wasn’t normal for someone to physically need to come into the woods every other day in order to stay sane. If it were, he would have run into someone, anyone else, by now. But the woods were almost always empty in this part of the preserve. Stiles stopped in the middle of the path. He turned and ran back down the way he’d come. He needed to be around people. He needed something normal.

“Stiles,” Deputy Tara greeted when he stepped into the station, “it’s been a while. What brings you here?”

Stiles grinned and held up the paper bag he carried. “Just dropping off lunch for the old man.”

Tara nodded towards the back of the building. “He’s in his office.”

Stiles leaned on the counter beside Tara, taking care not to block her view of the doors. “He been keeping to his diet?”

Tara looked over her shoulder, then shrugged once she saw no one was looking. She leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, “He snuck a donut the other day, but I think he knows about your spies. If he’s sneaking fast food, he’s not bringing it back here.”

“I’ll drop off your usual payment in the next couple days,” he whispered back. He shot Tara another smile before pushing open the doors into the station proper.

“Chocolate chip this time, Stiles,” Tara called before the doors closed behind him. Stiles took his time making his way through the bullpen. He hadn’t been able to visit the station since before his birthday, so he had a good bit of catching up to do with regards to the lives of Beacon Hills’ finest. Finally, he reached his dad’s office, walking in without knocking.

“Hey pops. I brought you lunch.”

Sheriff Noah Stilinski looked up from the files spread out over his desk with a cautious smile. He eyed the bag in Stiles’s hand warily as he cleared a spot on his desk. “That’s not a salad, is it?” 

Stiles smiled as he handed over the bag. “Nope. Turkey burger with sweet potato fries.” He took a second to scan over the files on his father’s desk. He barely even got a chance to read the names before the Sheriff pulled them away to shove into a drawer.

“If you really want to look at files, there’s plenty that need filed,” his father said as he unpacked his lunch from the bag. 

For a second, Stiles considered it. He shrugged. “Sure,” he said, picking up the pile his father had indicated. Noah gave him a suspicious look. “Gotta find something to kill time until Scott gets out of work.” 

His father nodded and turned back to his lunch. “I’m not going to complain. Tara could probably find more for you to do if you’re that desperate.”

The station provided him with exactly the kind of distraction he needed. He filed, made some coffee, reorganized the supply cabinets, filed some more, sorted the mail, and basically snooped around. It reminded him of so many days spent there with the deputies as his babysitters. It was so blessedly boring and normal.

At five he waved goodbye to his father and Tara. He stopped at the store for chips and soda before driving over to the McCalls. Scott provided more needed distraction. All it took was one question to get Scott to start talking about the animals he treated at the clinic, his plans to become a veterinarian, and his progress saving up for the bike. Stiles only had to make a comment here and there to get Scott to keep rambling. Before long they were discussing more and more outrageous plans to convince Melissa to agree to let Scott get his bike in between movies and then they were distracted by round after round of video games, switching from Injustice to Mortal Kombat to Halo and back. They stayed up late into the night before passing out flopped on Scott’s bed. 

Scott didn’t even stir when Stiles woke up a few hours later. He went to the bathroom. Then, he straightened up Scott's room a little. He tried to go back to sleep, but ended up staring at the ceiling as the sun slowly rose outside. Eventually, he gave up and rolled off the bed. He went downstairs and took stock of the ingredients available in the kitchen before setting out what he needed to make some banana nutella oat muffins. 

Melissa came down first. She stopped in the doorway for a moment to blink at him before shaking her head. Stiles set a cup of coffee in front of her before turning to pull the muffins out of the oven. He slid the second tray into the oven, then turned and presented Melissa with a muffin from the first batch.

“Delicious as always, Stiles,” she said affectionately. She ruffled his hair before rising to start getting ready for work. Stiles waited in the kitchen while the second pan of muffins baked. “Don’t let Scott sleep all day,” Melissa called, snagging another muffin on her way out the door.

The majority of the muffins went into a tupperware container. The rest he arranged neatly on a plate for the McCalls. As he washed the dishes, his mind wandered back to the idea of magic. The symptoms fit with what mythology blog guy had described. And the timing matched too. Stiles hadn’t even thought about the connection between his sixteenth birthday and the start of the buzzing, but it fit. And though the idea seemed crazy, he couldn’t shake the fact that it felt right. The evidence was there. 

Stiles glanced at the clock. He went back upstairs and found Scott still dead to the world. Stiles grinned and threw a shoe at him. 

“Wha?” Scott started up in bed, looking around the room in confusion.

“You’re going to be late for work, doofus,” Stiles called as he gathered up his backpack. “I made muffins.”

Scott grinned as he shoved the shoe off his bed. “Mmm. Muffins.”

Stiles chuckled as he headed back down the stairs. He set his backpack down by the door as he pulled on his shoes. Stiles called goodbye to Scott as he grabbed the container of muffins and headed out the door. He paused outside the door. The world looked the same as before. The sun was rising. People were going about their day. But, Stiles couldn’t help wondering if there was more that he wasn’t seeing. If maybe…

He shook his head and flung his bag in the back of the Jeep before setting the muffins in the front seat. Thankfully, it was still early enough that not all the deputies were in the station. Stiles dropped the muffins off in the break room, said a quick hello to his dad, then headed home. He kicked off his shoes, raced up the stairs, dropped his bag down by his desk and then booted up his laptop. 

He found another blog. And an entire forum. They both corroborated what mythology blog guy had said. The excess energy, the buzzing running through his skin, objects coming to him when he needed them, things mysteriously happening that kept him from harm. It was all there. The blogs didn’t go into detail about what he should actually do about his magic beyond grounding and centering, whatever that was, but they did give him plenty of suggestions for further research.

Stiles glanced at the clock. He’d lost a lot of time in his foray into the depths of the internet, but he might still be able to get to the library before it closed for the day. He raced down the stairs and paused only long enough to grab his keys and put on his shoes before driving like mad across town. He managed to make it with fifteen minutes to spare.

A quick check for some of the titles gave him the general section of the library to look for. It appeared that Beacon Hills library actually had a decent occult section. There were books on magic, witchcraft, druids, and all kinds of magic users. Further down there were books of legends and magical creatures. The section on werewolves and shapeshifters was particularly impressive. Stiles would have loved to spend hours browsing through them, but he was on a time limit. Stiles found the books that the blog had recommended as well as several others that looked interesting. He even found a small little leather bound book that had fallen behind the others that seemed to call to him in a way. He hesitated for a moment before adding it to his stack, but decided to trust his instincts. The librarian raised an eyebrow at his selections, but didn’t comment as she checked him out. She did pause at the little leather book and was unable to find a barcode. It seemed like she wasn’t curious enough to research it more, or she just wanted to go home, because she just shrugged and handed it back to him with the rest of the books. 

His dad wasn’t home yet when Stiles got home. He wanted to dive right into his books, but he knew that if he did, his dad would pull him out of his research spiral before he really got started. So, instead he stashed the books in his room. He made a quick dinner of BLT sandwiches, left his dad’s share on the table and took his up to his room. Only then did he let himself delve into the first of the books that the blogs recommended.

He heard his dad come home, but he was too entrenched in his research to stop. Here was the explanation of grounding and centering that the blogs had lacked. In another book, he found the theories of ley lines and nature’s affect on magic that explained why he was able to relax after going into the woods. He hadn’t just been imagining his energy flowing into the forest, he actually had, somehow, subconsciously been releasing his excess energy into the ley lines in the woods. He printed off a map from the internet and soon had a complex diagram of the local ley lines. In fact, if he was reading the maps right, the preserve had a lot of really large lines meeting somewhere in the middle of it.

“That sandwich isn’t going to do much good sitting on the plate,” Noah said from the doorway. 

Stiles looked up from the map he was pinning on the wall and back to the plate that sat untouched on his desk. “Right,” he said. “I’ll eat in a minute.”

“Uh huh.” His dad gave him a completely unbelieving look. “It’s summer, kid. The research can wait a few minutes.” Noah gave a pointed look towards his sandwich before moving from the doorway and down the hallway.

Stiles slumped down in the chair at his desk. He pulled the leather bound book out of his stack, holding it in his hand as he took a bite of the sandwich. He set the sandwich back down on the plate when he opened the book. The other books were all about the theory of magic, the history, different historical traditions, but here was something more concrete. Spells. He read through the first one, a light spell. It looked simple enough. All he needed to do was concentrate and shape his will. Then, he would finally have solid proof that this magic thing was real.

He settled himself in the middle of his bed. Stiles let his body relax. He cleared his mind like the book had said. Stiles let his focus drop into his body until he found what he imagined was the source of his magic, right in the center of his chest. He imagined a drop of that separating off and flowing up his arm and out his fingers until it separated from his body. In his mind he gave the drop form and pushed his will onto it. He gave it a purpose. Stiles kept his eyes closed for another moment longer, almost afraid that if he opened his eyes and the light wasn’t there that he’d been led on a wild goose chase. That he actually was crazy.

He opened his eyes.

There, floating above his hand was a small ball of light. He jumped up off the bed, both surprised and excited all at once. The light winked back out as soon as he stopped concentrating. For a moment all he could do was clamp his lips shut on the shouts of joy he wanted to make and flail his arms at the complete awesomeness that was his little ball of light. He had proof. Stiles had magic.


	4. Deaton

After three weeks of reading everything the internet had about magic and collecting more and more of the library’s occult section in his room, Stiles was becoming a little more grounded in his magical ability. He didn't have to run off to the woods anymore as long as he practiced daily. However, his research spiral had not gone unnoticed. Noah threatened to turn off the internet if Stiles didn't leave the house for a while and socialize with actual people. So, he turned to his usual source of social interaction.

“Yo, Scott,” Stiles called out as he opened the gate into the back of the veterinary office. He poked his head into the open doors to the exam rooms until he found Scott in the very back surgery area. “You ready to go?” 

Scott looked from him to the clock and back down at the dog he was holding down. “I’m going to need a few minutes.”

Stiles waved a hand dismissively and leaned back against the door frame. “We’ve got time before the movie starts.” He watched as Deaton finished stitching up a cut in the dog’s leg, tying his stitches off neatly. The vet looked up finally. He glanced over at Stiles and started. Deaton looked surprised for a whole second before his features smoothed into polite indifference. 

“Scott, why don’t you get Duke here settled in a kennel while I talk to Stiles.” Both boys looked at Deaton in surprise, but Scott nodded and carried the dog out of the room. Stiles’s curiosity increased as Deaton motioned him into his office and shut the door behind him. 

“How long have you been practicing magic?”

It was Stiles’s turn to be surprised. He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised that Deaton knew about magic or that he could somehow tell that Stiles was able to do magic. After a minute, he shrugged. “Sometime after my 16th birthday. I wasn’t sure what it was at first…” He shrugged again. Deaton didn't need to know that about his period of panic. He hadn’t even confided in Scott about that.

“And you’ve been learning on your own since then?”

“Well, yeah,” Stiles says. “I mean, it took a while to weed out the useful information among all the trash on the internet, but there’s some there. And the library had a surprisingly large occult section, so I’ve been able to work some stuff out. Enough that I don’t feel like I’m going to vibrate out of my skin or have to seriously consider becoming a hermit in the woods.”

Deaton raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been having problems with regulating energy?” Stiles shrugged uncertainly. “And the woods calm you down?”

Stiles nodded. “They’ve always done that. Even when I was little.” He shrugged again. “The sites I found haven’t really explained that part much, more of the practical side of things.”

Deaton’s other eyebrow raised. “Such as?”

This time, Stiles grinned. He’d been waiting for a chance to show off. He opened his hand with a flourish to reveal a single flame hovering over his palm. Deaton’s expression didn’t change, but he leaned forward slightly to study the flame. “I’ve been practicing working with the elements mostly,” Stiles explained. “And I learned how to do some protection spells.”

The vet made a thoughtful noise as he turned to a closed cabinet beside his desk. When he opened the cabinet doors, Stiles was surprised to see several leather bound books inside along with carefully labeled jars and an assortment of what looked like spell components. He watched as the vet pulled out two slim, leather bound volumes and a thicker, traditionally bound book. Deaton closed the cabinet and resumed his seat before sliding the books across the desk to Stiles. 

“Normally, a Spark such as yourself will have a relative who recognizes their talent and arranges training before the magic begins to manifest on its own. They would be given books like these to study from before getting as far as you have.” Deaton leaned back in his chair as Stiles picked up the first leather bound book and leafed through it. It looked to be a journal of sorts with rows upon rows of tightly spaced handwriting. “If you’re amenable, I can oversee your training going forward.”

He considered this for a moment as he flipped through the other books. The second was a blend of the books he’d gotten from the library, combining theory with interspersed spells. The thick tome was a collection of legends with detailed drawings. As he flipped through, he was reminded of the stories he used to read with his mom. Stiles was half tempted to skip the movie and dig into these. Deaton made a questioning sound and Stiles nodded absently. “Sounds good, Doc.” He paused as a thought occurred to him. “Spark?”

“A general term for a magic user,” Deaton explained. “There are Druids and there are Wiccans and witches. Bruja and Shamans are more often found in the Southwest or Mexico and down through South America. Sparks are more general, not stuck to one traditional path.”

“Huh.” Stiles had encountered some of those terms during his research, but he hadn’t realized there were actually people out there like him who practiced those ways. “Which one are you?”

Deaton gave him a small smile. “I’d be classified as a Druid.” 

Stiles nodded again. Anything further was cut off by Scott’s voice through the door. “Stiles, we’re going to miss the movie if we don’t get going.” 

Stiles glanced at Deaton once more before scooping up the books. He hesitated with his hand on the door handle. “You mentioned training?” He looked back at the vet in time to see a smile cross his features.

“Come back when you’ve finished those and we’ll talk more.” 

Scott gave him an odd look as Stiles opened the door. He eyed the books in Stiles’s hands, but didn’t comment until Stiles had carefully tucked the volumes into his backpack in the jeep. “What did Deaton want?” Scott asked finally.

Stiles smiled at his friend reassuringly. “Just lent me some books,” he said. “I’ll tell you about it after the movie if you want.”

He had been looking forward to the movie, but even the explosions and car chase scenes couldn't distract him from the books waiting for him. The book of myths was making him wonder what else was out there. He knew for certain now that magic was real, had it corroborated by the least likely of sources. Stiles doubted Deaton had given him the book for pleasure reading. So, if the stories were meant to be part of his education, then it stood to reason that whichever creatures were in the stories were real. They were things the author felt other magic users should know about. Stiles just wished he’d looked at it long enough to see which stories were in there.

It seemed like decades before the credits finally rolled. Stiles gathered up their trash and practically bounced in place as he waited for the crowd around them to clear enough for them to leave their seats. As soon as there was a break in the crowd, Stiles darted forward. He dumped their trash in the garbage on the way out the door and glanced back once to make sure Scott was following. Stiles beat him back to the Jeep by a good five minutes.

“Dude, what is up with you?” Scott asked as he climbed into the idling Jeep. Stiles only waited long enough for Scott to buckle in before he was backing out of the parking spot. “What were those books Deaton gave you?” 

Stiles glanced over at Scott briefly before turning his eyes back to the road. He hadn’t wanted to worry Scott and his Dad before when he thought he was going crazy, but now that he had proof that magic was a real thing perhaps it would be okay to talk about it. Deaton hadn’t said that he couldn’t talk about it with Scott. After all, the man probably assumed that Stiles had already told Scott. He glanced around them. The middle of the town was probably not the best place to have this conversation. 

“Can you spend the night?” Stiles asked. “There’s something I want to show you.”

Scott glanced at him curiously, but nodded. They stopped by the McCalls only long enough for Scott to run in and grab some clothing. While Scott was inside, Stiles was tempted to open his backpack and dig out his new books, but Scott was back before he gave in to the temptation. Scott threw his backpack into the back of the Jeep and climbed back in. “I left a message for Mom,” Scott said with a grin. “Now let’s go so I can find out what this big secret is.”

He couldn’t help grinning back as he shifted gears to reverse out of the driveway. They both grabbed their bags and called hello to the Sheriff before disappearing upstairs into Stiles’s room. Scott paused on the threshold, taking in the changes to the room with wide eyes. 

“Duuuude,” Scott let the word out slowly with a hint of awe. His bag fell from his hands and he walked further into the room. Scott turned from the diagrams on the right hand wall to the huge pieced together map of Beacon Hills and it’s ley lines on the far wall to the random sheets of notes tacked up on the left wall. “What have you been up to?”

Stiles slipped past Scott to shut the door. He turned back towards Scott and then hesitated. Grabbing Scott by the arms he pulled him over and pushed him down until he was sitting on the bed. “Just sit there,” he said. Stiles considered Scott for another moment before turning to root around in his friend’s bag. He pulled out Scott’s inhaler and set it down on the bed next to him. “Just in case,” he explained as Scott’s eyebrows steadily crept further and further up his forehead. 

He turned towards the diagrams on the wall. He wasn’t sure exactly where to begin. Stiles didn’t even know all there was to know about magic, but he was beginning to grasp the sheer awesomeness that was the subject. He waved a hand at the diagrams. “These… No, wait. This… No, I should…” He flailed his arms as if that could communicate the magnitude of the importance of the different magical orders he’d posted on the wall. Stiles shook his head before turning back to Scott, who was increasingly looking like he was about to start inching towards the door and calling for the men in white coats to come take Stiles away to a nice padded room.

Stiles took a deep breath and forced himself to clear his mind. He used the breathing trick that let him center to find his magic. It was there, waiting inside him for his will. He took another deep breath and turned to point at the map of Beacon Hills.

“So, for centuries scientists have been studying these things called telluric currents, also known as ley lines.” Stiles traced a finger along one of the lines on his map, moving inwards towards where they met. “It turns out that Beacon Hills sits on top of a bunch of really strong lines, which meet in a kind of node out in the middle of the preserve.”

Scott nodded, but seemed to be waiting for Stiles to make sense. “Okay… What does that have to do with Deaton and all the other stuff on your walls?”

Stiles turned to face Scott head on. “Okay, so, places like this,” he flung a hand in the general direction of his map, “they attract people. A certain type of people.” He paused, trying to find a delicate way to break the news to Scott. Fuck it. “People with magic.”

Scott’s reaction was anticlimactic. His friend raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh.” He started to get up from the bed. “Dude, if you didn't want to tell me, you could have just…”

A flame sprouted to life above the hand Stiles thrust out between them. Scott started backwards, falling off the bed with a thud. “Dude!” Scott scrambled to get his feet under him, then hesitantly stepped forward. Stiles wiggled his fingers, making the flame hop from one to the next before rolling his hand around it. Scott reached out a finger, only to pull it back when he felt the heat.

“How is that not burning you?”

Stiles couldn’t resist grinning. “Magic.”

Scott rolled his eyes as he sunk back down on the bed. Stiles extinguished the flame with a flap of his hand. “What else can you do?”

Stiles shrugged. He spun idly in the chair as he answered. “Not much yet,” he replied. “I can make a light, the flame, manipulate wind and water. Been meaning to work on earth next, but I think Deaton wants to train me a bit before I experiment any more on my own.” He nodded to his bag at Scott’s startled look. “Apparently Deaton can do magic too. He gave me a bunch of books, said he wants to do some kind of lessons after I finish them.” 

Remembering the books, Stiles pulled his backpack closer and dug them out. “These two look like theory,” he said as he waved the leather bound books at Scott. He set them aside and pulled out the larger book. “But this one is legends and tales meant to teach magic users.” He flipped through idly before stopping on a picture. “Dude! Elves!”

Scott’s eyes lit up. He came over to peer over Stiles’s shoulder. Together they read the accompanying page before turning to the next. “Is that hinting at what I think it is?” Scott asked.

“I think this means that elves might actually be a thing.” Stiles turned to the next page. “I mean, they could be stories of creatures from the past,” he said as he considered out loud. “Or they could be parables, but there’s a good chance that these could be real.” He flipped further into the book, listing out creatures as he saw them. “Witches. Shamans. Deaton mentioned those already. “Shapeshifters. Definitely going to ask him about those.” Stiles pulled a piece of paper towards him and started scribbling down notes. “Fairies. Fauns. Brownies. Interesting....”

“So, what is the rest of this stuff?” Scott asked, gesturing to the other walls. 

Stiles stood and indicated the symbols on the wall behind him. “These are all different symbols I’ve found that seem to be associated with different magical groups. Not sure yet which ones are legit or not. I’ll probably have to take them to Deaton to get a yes or a no on them.” He waved his hand towards the far wall. “Those are the questions that I wanted to look into further.”

He shrugged and sank back down in the chair. “It’s like I’ve just discovered that there’s this whole separate world out there hidden behind the normal everyday stuff and I am just barely beginning to see glimpses of things or catch shadows.” 

“If you start signing ‘A Whole New World’, I’m leaving.” Scott gives him a skeptical look.

Stiles chuckled, but shook his head. “Maybe later.”

Scott fell back on the bed, directing his words at the ceiling. “And my boss, the veterinarian, knows all about this stuff?”

Stile nodded, even though Scott probably couldn't see him. He spun back and forth in his chair. “He just looked at me and knew, which is totally weird. I mean, apparently there's some sign on my forehead that says ‘this guy has magic’ that other magic people can see. And it makes me wonder who else in town can see it. Like, did Mrs. Jenkins give me an odd look at the store because she can see magic or was it just cause she didn't like my cereal buying habits.”

“Definitely the cereal,” Scott says from the bed. “Most people don't argue with the boxes when comparing brands.”

Stiles made a dismissive noise. “It's an important decision.” He waved a hand. “My point is, I don't really know what is out there anymore.”

Scott sat up finally. “Then let's find out.” He held out his hand for one of the books. “We can get through all this faster if I help.”

He couldn't help grinning at Scott. “Thanks, dude.” Stiles handed over one of the books from the library. He tossed over a notebook and pen as well. “If we make a list of creatures, I can take it to Deaton for confirmation.“ Stiles picked up the book of legends again and turned to the first page. After a few minutes they were both engrossed in research.


	5. Firelight and Auras

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my outline for this fic went over 25 chapters and I decided to break it into four parts for easier read. As a result, you may note that the tags have changed to be more arc specific. There will eventually be smut in this fic, it's just not going to be in this arc. 
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who has left kudos! I hope you continue to enjoy this story.

Stiles’s weeks settled into a routine after his first meeting with Deaton. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday afternoons he went to the clinic to learn magic with Deaton. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings Stiles spent in the library, looking up things that Deaton mentioned during his lessons. On Saturdays, he and Scott caught up and Stiles filled him in on all of the things he’d discovered over the course of the week. He took the random notes and symbols down from his wall, and began to organize his notes on Google Drive instead. Stiles was rather proud of his growing digital Bestiary. Deaton was impressed too. Or, at least, his eyebrows quirked up and Stiles suspected the vet was trying not to smile.

His lessons also developed a sort of pattern. First, he’d present Deaton with his list of questions, a tradition that started with Stiles and Scott’s hypothetical list of creatures and which had led to Stiles’s digital bestiary. Then, he and Deaton would review what they’d gone over the previous session. At first, Deaton had simply sent him home with reading assignments. But, after a few lessons, Deaton had determined that Stiles had a solid enough grasp on the basics that he began to spend the second part of their lessons drilling him in defensive spells and shielding. Their lessons ended when Stiles was thoroughly exhausted. Deaton would disappear to check on the clinic while Stiles gathered the energy to move from his chair. On the way out of the clinic, Deaton would hand him a slip of paper with his next reading assignment and then Stiles headed home, only to repeat the whole process two days later.

Stiles was slumped in the chair in Deaton’s office, waiting for his energy to come back so that he and Scott could leave together, when Deaton broke their pattern. 

Deaton closed the door behind him and resumed his spot behind his desk. “I know you and Scott have plans, so I won’t keep you long, but I wanted to talk to you about your lessons during the coming school year.”

Stiles counted the days in his head and realized that school was, indeed, only two weeks away. “Huh,” he said. He scrubbed his hands over his face to try to shake off some of his exhaustion. “We’ll have lacrosse practice after school and the occasional Saturday game, but I should be able to fit you in, doc.”

Deaton’s lips quirked into a smile. “I think you’ve made a tremendous amount of progress over the summer,” he started. “Your shields are starting to come naturally and you’ve been doing better with deflecting external magic. I’m confident that you should be able to escape passive detection from any magical or supernatural creature.” Deaton paused for a moment while Stiles processed the compliment. “However, you’ve probably guessed that there’s a reason we’ve been focusing so intently on defensive magics.”

“Yeah,” he began, sitting up straighter. He had learned that Deaton preferred to hint at things and come about them sideways, but now it seemed like him might get some explanation. “I figured it had something to do with all the cautionary tales you’ve been having me read.”

“Those are part of it,” the vet said. “However, it’s exceedingly unlikely that you will come across one of the fae these days, not outside of certain wild areas in the British Isles or the forests of Europe.” The vet shrugged. “There are supernatural creatures who prey on magic users, certain vampires, wendigo, and so forth. But, the majority of supernatural creatures you encounter will be either good or neutral. The threats you’re more likely to encounter, that I’ve been preparing you to avoid, will be from other humans.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow at that, but thankfully Deaton continued. “You’re learned about the various types of magic users. Obviously, not all of those are as well intentioned as you or I. There are some who do not have much magical talent of their own who can use pain or death to gain power for themselves.” Deaton waited for Stiles to nod his understanding before continuing on. “Then, there are the hunters.”

“Hunters?” Stiles asked. He leaned forward curiously. None of the books he’d gotten from Deaton or the library had mentioned anything about hunters. “You mean like ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’ kind of hunters?”

Deaton gave him a long look before answering. “I’m afraid I don’t know the reference,” he said after a moment. “Like most groups, there is some variation within hunters. There are some that hunt only a certain species, like the Argent family who have been werewolf hunters for generations, some that hunt only those who take human lives, and then there are some who will hunt anything that’s not one hundred percent human. The families who hunt only witches are rare. There are only two who still hunt in the Americas that I know of.” Deaton rose and pulled another of the little leather bound journals from his collection. He laid the book down on the desk in front of Stiles. 

Stiles picked it up and flipped through it. He saw two names repeated throughout. “Hopkins and de Lancre, huh? How likely am I to run into them?”

“I’ve yet to meet anyone from either clan, but life in Beacon Hills is quiet,” Deaton replied with a shrug. “You're more likely to run into the other types of hunters, but as long as you stay under the radar you will be fine, hence the importance of staying undetected.” He paused for a moment, considering Stiles. “Have you told your father about your studies yet?”

“Uhhh…” Stiles hesitates. “Not as such.”

“While I’m certainly not going to mention it to him if you don’t want me to,” Deaton began, “but it might be advantageous to you to have the county Sheriff aware of the signs that hunters or certain creatures are in the area.” Deaton rose then and Stiles took that as a sign the conversation was over. He began to gather his things and pack them away in his backpack. Deaton stopped him before he opened the door. “Just keep in mind, Stiles, that the stronger your magic becomes, the more natural it is for you to use it. It will be difficult to hide it from those that you’re close to.”

He nodded and turned the door handle. “Yo, Scott,” he called. “Ready for a weekend of awesome birthday shenanigans?”

Scott looked up from where he was putting away supplies and smiled. “Almost ready,” he said as he closed the last of the drawers. 

“I’ll see you boys Sunday afternoon,” Deaton called as Scott grabbed his backpack.

Stiles and Scott bid the vet goodbye and hurried out of the clinic. They tossed their bags into the back of the Jeep with the rest of Stiles’s supplies for the weekend and headed back to Scott’s house. Stiles left the majority of things in the Jeep, just grabbing his backpack and the bag with Scott’s presents in it. He spotted his dad’s cruiser parked across the street as he headed into the house. 

Melissa already had dinner spread out on the table. Stiles gave his dad a quick hug before adding his gifts to the pile Melissa had waiting for Scott and sliding into a seat. They discussed the events of their various work days between bites of tacos. Once they’d had their fill, Melissa pulled out a small cake with two lit candles, which she set in front of Scott. His friend claimed to be embarrassed as they sang “Happy Birthday”, but Stiles could tell that Scott was totally eating it up.

After the cake, Melissa handed Scott his stack of presents which he dug into without hesitation. Melissa gifted him with some clothes, a handful of books, one of the Call of Duty video games, and some movies. Noah got him a Amazon gift card and a movie Stiles had recommended. Stiles’s presents, a collection of comic books, were equally well received. 

Before long, Scott was itching to open up his new game and Noah started to take his leave. Stiles followed behind his dad as he headed out to the cruiser. Deaton’s words echoed in his head and he considered for a moment telling his dad about his magic. Then he met his dad’s eyes and saw the weariness there. He heard a beep come from his dad’s phone. Noah pulled the phone out and glanced at it with a grimace before turning to the cruiser. “Are you heading back to work?” Stiles asked.

Noah nodded as he slid into the driver’s seat. “There’s been an animal attack along the county line,” he said with a sigh. “I’ve got to coordinate with the Clark County sheriff, and if I’m lucky, she’ll take over the investigation and it won’t be my problem.” He rubbed a hand tiredly over his eyes.

“Let me know if you need me to give you a ride home,” Stiles says after considering his dad for a minute. “Scott won’t mind if I step out if it keeps you from falling asleep at the wheel.”

His dad gave him a withering look before shaking his head. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “You boys have fun. I’ll see you on Sunday after you get back from the clinic?”

“Yup.” Stiles moved forward and pushed his dad’s door closed for him. “Be safe!” He called as his dad started up the cruiser and pulled off. Stiles lingered for a minute before shaking himself and heading back inside. By the time he made it up to Scott’s room he had plastered a grin on his face again. Scott already had his new game loaded on the PlayStation. He tossed Stiles a controller. Stiles settled onto the floor next to Scott and let himself be distracted by the game. As usual, they passed out not long after they turned the game off, flopped across the bed. They slept late into the morning. Stiles made Scott some birthday stuffed french toast for a late breakfast/early lunch. Melissa joined them briefly before heading into work, calling for them to be careful as she hurried out the door. 

They lounged around the house for a little bit longer, getting in a couple more rounds of video games. Around two, Stiles checked in with his dad before they loaded their bags back into the Jeep and took off for the second part of Scott’s birthday, a camping trip into the preserve. Stiles texted his dad their planned spot before they got too deep in the preserve where he risked losing cell phone signal. He drove the Jeep down one of the access roads he’d discovered while he’d been running during the end of the school year, parking in a little dirt patch off to the side of the road. He and Scott each grabbed a pair of bags and carried them the short distance away to a clearing that had clearly been used as a campsite numerous times before. 

There was already a perfect circle of rocks surrounding a cleared dirt patch in the center of the clearing. To one side of the fire pit were large rocks that were obviously meant to be used as seats. Stiles set the firewood he’d brought down next to the fire pit and then found a nice flat spot nearby to set up their tent. It took them another two trips to get everything out of the Jeep, but they still had plenty of light.

On their last trip through the woods, Stiles took a couple minutes to gather a couple handfuls of fallen branches and twigs, arranging them in a pile in the middle of the stone circle. That done, he began to unpack the tent and try to remember how the thing went together. It must have been two or three years since he’d last gone camping and his dad had always set up the tent for them. Stiles got the poles put together, but getting them into the slots in the tent seemed to be a bit more problematic. He looked up when Scott cleared his throat.

Scott eyed the collection of sticks and twigs that Stiles had piled up inside the rock circle skeptically. “Dude, I don’t know about you, but I have no idea how to start a campfire.” Scott looked up for where he was rifling through the supplies Stiles had packed. “Did you even pack matches?”

Stiles raised an eyebrow at Scott. He didn’t look away from Scott as he willed a little bit of his magic into the wood. Smoke rose from the pile a moment before a healthy fire sprang up. “I think we’ll manage,” he replied before going back to setting up the tent. 

Scott gaped at him for a second before shaking his head. “Right,” he said slowly. He moved over towards Stiles and began to spread out the blanket they’d brought, pinning down the corners with rocks. Stiles stared at the tent poles in frustration for a second before giving in and using his magic to bend the poles into position. Another wave of magic forced the tent stakes into the ground. He tossed their sleeping bags inside the tent and used his magic to spread them out. “I’m not sure whether that’s cheating or just really efficient,” Scott said from behind him.

“I’ll go with efficient,” Stiles said with a grin. He turned to the travel cooler he’d brought and began to pull out the supplies for mountain pies. He settled down on the blanket next to Scott and handed him one of the irons. A few minutes later they had pizza pies cooking in the camp fire. Stiles looked around at their camp to see if there was anything left to set up, but it looked like they were all set. He pulled a coke out of the cooler and tossed one to Scott. Stiles turned their pies. He settled back on the blanket and closed his eyes. He felt a smile spread across his face as the peace of the forest settled into him. 

Off in the distance he heard birds chirping. There was a bit of rustling further off that he sensed was a rabbit. He let his senses drift further off. There was a family of foxes sleeping in their den. A pair of deer drank from a stream. He sensed more creatures further off, but didn’t pursue them. He pulled himself back to his body just as a dog howled off in the distance.

“Was that a wolf?” Scott asked, eyes growing wide as he started up onto his knees. 

Stiles rolled his eyes and pulled their pies out of the fire. He dumped them on plates and set the irons aside to cool before they started their next set of pies. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “There aren’t any wolves in California. It’s probably just somebody’s dog, maybe a coyote.” He shrugged.

Scott did not look relieved. His eyes scanned the tree line. “Are you sure we’re safe out here?”

Stiles picked up a pebble from the rocks around their campfire. He waved it at Scott until he had his friend’s attention. Stiles tossed the rock up and down in his hand once to judge the weight before aiming his best throw at the edge of the clearing. The rock hit his shield and bounced away. Scott stared at where the rock had hit before closing his mouth with a click. 

“I did not know you could do that.”

Stiles shrugged. “Deaton’s been drilling defense into me since he deemed me ready to learn magic,” he explained. “Not only should that keep anything from coming in, but nothing outside of here should be able to hear or see us.” He paused for a second before admitting, “If I did it right, that is.” Scott did not look impressed, but Stiles just waved his worries away. “It’ll be fine. At worst, we have confirmed that nothing will get in.”

Scott seemed to accept that, because he relaxed. They ate another two rounds of pizza pies before he cracked open two cans of pie filling and started making dessert pies. Around them the sky grew darker, but the fire provided more than enough light for them. With their stomachs full, Scott and Stiles stretched out on the blanket and watched the stars. 

He cast a glance over at Scott after a few minutes of silence. “I’ve got one last present for you,” Stiles said.

Scott turned and quirked an eyebrow at him. Stiles pointed up at the sky above them. Once Scott was looking upward, Stiles laid back down again and forced his body to relax. He gathered up his magic. Carefully, he pulled a bit of fire from the campfire and made a line across the sky. He shaped the bit of fire into a snake and made it slither across the sky. After a minute, he curled the snake upon itself, twisting the shape into a rabbit that he sent hopping across the sky. He pulled another bit of fire from the campfire and made it into a dog that chased the rabbit. The dog pounced on the rabbit and he twisted the fire into a dragon that swooped down close enough to them for them to feel a bit of heat. Scott let out a whoop of laughter as the dragon flapped its wings up into the sky. He made a second dragon and sent the two of them up and up into the sky, twisting around each other. The dragons swooped down again. They clashed together, exploding into a burst of fireworks that showered down around them and swirled like fireflies. Stiles gave his magic a little twist, changing the fire into little dots of light instead. He let them fade until they blinked in the soft way that normal fireflies would and left them there, swirling around them. 

“Dude,” Scott murmured. “That was awesome.” His friend gave a jaw cracking yawn that Stiles couldn’t help emulating. Stiles shook his head to clear it and nodded towards the tent.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get some sleep.” Stiles pushed himself to his feet. He let the fireflies fade away as he held the tent flap open for Scott. Before heading in himself, Stiles closed his eyes. He checked his hold over the shield around their camp before setting up a smaller shield around the campfire to prevent it from spreading. He took one last glance at the quiet forest around them before slipping into the tent and closing the flap behind him.

*************

Returning to school felt stranger than it ever had before. Stiles parked his Jeep in the student lot, reveling in the freedom of not having to take the bus. However, as soon as he stepped through the doors, he felt as though there should be some huge, recognizable difference now that he knew about magic, but nothing had changed. The people in his homeroom were the same. The schedule the teacher handed him was the same he’d signed up for the previous year. Stiles had half expected there to been a “Magic 101” class somehow added, but no such luck.

He found Scott at his locker before first period. Stiles leaned against the locker next to Scott, about to compare schedules, when he noticed a glittering out of the corner of his eye. His vision unfocused like Deaton had shown him. He turned and caught an aura of deep green around someone across the hall. He let himself sink deeper into his magic. The aura became a little brighter. He thought he could almost pick out a shape in the aura, but it wasn't fully formed.

“Stilinksi,” Jackson said as he broke Stiles's line of sight. He shoved Stiles back against the locker. “I thought I told you last year to stop staring at Lydia.”

Stiles blinked up at Jackson in confusion for a moment before leaning to the side to look around him. Sure enough, there was Lydia where the aura he was staring at had been. “Huh,” he said. He turned back to find Scott and Jackson both staring at him. He waved a hand absently at Lydia. “Sorry, didn’t see you there.” Stiles vaguely noted the dumbfounded look on Jackson’s face and the surprise on Lydia’s, but he was more concerned with what the aura meant. He stepped around Jackson and headed for his first period class.

Scott sat down at the desk next to him as the bell rang. “Dude, what was that?” he hissed. 

Stiles considered possible answers for a moment before shrugging. He was going to have to ask Deaton about auras next lesson. Before Scott could ask again, Coach Finstock came into the room and began to take roll. Stiles was able to duck Scott second period when they had different classes. By third period, Scott had forgotten all about the incident in favor of the new girl, Allison, who he’d lent a pencil to. 

Allison was, apparently, perfection embodied. If you listened to Scott, she was the most beautiful being to ever grace the earth, with birds singing her praises and flowers growing in her wake. Stiles met her fourth period and he had to admit that she did seem nice. He still considered Lydia to be the prettiest girl at school. But, Allison was approachable in a way that Lydia had never been.

“So what brings you to our little town?” Stiles asked as he slid into the seat behind Scott, who had chosen the seat next to Allison.

“My dad’s work,” Allison explained with a bit of a sigh. “We move around a lot.”

Stiles saw the crestfallen look on Scott’s face and had to comment. “Well, hopefully you won’t have to move again.” Any further conversation was cut off by the biology teacher starting class. When Allison’s name was called, Stiles sat up in surprise. He recognized Argent from somewhere, but he couldn’t place it. He meant to ask Allison about it, but she was separated from them in the rush to get their stuff put away in their lockers before lunch. By the time Stiles met up with Scott again and gotten through the lunch line, they had lost Allison to the popular crowd.

“Do you think she’d be willing to go out with me?” Scott asked as he looked longingly at where Allison was tucked in next to Lydia at another table. 

Stiles snorted as he set his tray down across from Scott. “Anything is possible, my friend.” He cackled at the offended look Scott shot at him. Stiles let Scott sulk for a minute before taking pity on him. “I think you’ve got a shot there.” 

Scott practically lit up at the thought. He started to plan his first date out loud, but Stiles wasn’t paying attention. His gaze lingered on Lydia for a moment before he purposely turned his gaze to the table in front of him. He made the appropriate noises to keep Scott talking, but let his shields relax. He unfocused his vision in the same way he had this morning. Carefully, he turned his head so that he could see Lydia out of the corner of his eye. 

Lydia still had an aura of green so dark it was almost black. It flowed around her like something living yet billowed out behind her like a dress caught in the wind. He turned his head slightly and was surprised to see that Allison also had an aura. It was fainter, barely even there. Stiles squinted, but he could just barely make out a blood red crown around Allison’s head. 

“Stiles, are you even listening?” 

Stiles jerked his attention back to Scott. However, he was rendered speechless by the aura around his friend. It was faint, like Allison’s, but Scott had a very faint brown haze around him and superimposed over his normally brown eyes were two glowing spots of gold. Stiles blinked. He brought his shields back up and let his vision return to normal.

“Sorry man,” he said. “There’s something I need to talk to Deaton about.”


	6. Mysteries and Murder

The only things that kept Stiles from going straight to Deaton after school were lacrosse practice and Scott’s puppy dog eyes. Really, it was mostly the puppy dog eyes. As it was, Stiles could barely wait for practice to be over. Luckily Coach only had them running drills, because if Stiles had to actually participate he was sure he would have hurt himself from not paying attention. His running over the past few months had given him the speed and stamina to keep up with the rest of the team, but he was too distracted to catch a single ball. 

Deaton was talking to a family when he arrived, so Stiles slipped into the back. He paced the length of Deaton's office three times before the vet showed up. “What can I do for you, Mr. Stilinksi?” the vet asked as he settled at his desk.

“I saw some things at school today,” Stiles said. He realized that that statement could be taken so many different ways. He forced himself to stop pacing for a moment, but couldn't help flailing a little as he tried to describe the auras he’d seen.

Deaton actually looked surprised. “What do you see when you look at me?”

Stiles let his shields relax and unfocused his vision. He looked over at Deaton cautiously. He let out a breath. “Nothing,” he said, not sure whether to be annoyed or relieved.

Deaton hummed thoughtfully for a moment. As Stiles watched, a glow started to spread over the vet in the leaf green color that he always associated with Deaton’s magic. Once Deaton had fully dropped all of his shields, Stiles leaned back, taking in his full aura. Deaton was haloed in a strong green glow, much stronger than the aura he’d seen around Lydia. Around his head there was a very clearly defined crown made of interwoven plants.

“Leaf green,” he said thoughtfully. “With a crown of…” He hesitated as he tried to remember the names of the plants. They’d been in one of the early books Deaton had given him. “I think that’s Mistletoe…” He squinted and tilted his head a little to get a better look. “...and… Oak? I think.”

“Peace and Strength,” Deaton said. His expression had gone unreadable again. “And a classic Druid combination.” He looked off into the distance for a few minutes before turning back to Stiles.

“Seeing auras isn't unusual among magic users, but seeing images with them is quite rare.” Deaton turned to regard his collection of books. He thumbed through a few, ultimately rejecting each in turn until he pulled out a very slim volume that had been shoved to the side as if it were rarely used. “Unfortunately, I have never come across anything like that myself, so I can’t shed any light on what the shapes and images might signify.” He handed the book over to Stiles. “This is a treatise on the theory of colors related to magical energy.” Deaton shrugged at the skeptical look Stiles gave him. “It may shed some light on that aspect of the auras at least.”

Stiles turned the book over in his hand before stashing it away in his backpack. “I suppose it gives me a place to start,” he said.

“I’ll reach out to some of my contacts, see if they can recommend some other sources, but I’ll warn you that these channels are often quite slow. It may be some time before I get an answer. I suggest you refresh your knowledge of plant identification in the meantime.” 

He nodded. “Sure, Doc.” He gathered up his backpack. “I’ll see if the internet or the library has anything promising.” Stiles paused in the doorway as another thought occurred to him. “Did you mention something about Argents the other day?” he asked.

Deaton quirked an eyebrow at him. “They’re a famous line of werewolf Hunters. Why do you ask?”

“New girl in school,” he said as he turned back to face the veterinarian. He was quiet for a minute as his mind made another connection. “Wasn’t that crazy lady who tried to burn down the Hale house also an Argent?”

“She was,” Deaton confirmed. “Though I’m afraid I didn’t follow their family tree closely enough to be able to tell you if she was related to your Argent.” The vet shrugged. “Kate was a bit of an outlier where the family was concerned. The Argents follow a Code. They only hunt those who hunt others. They don’t try to kill children.”

“Huh.” Stiles wasn’t sure what to make of that information. Instead of commenting, he simply filed it away for later examination. He gave the vet a wave as he turned and left the office. “Thanks, Doc. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Stiles spent the next week tracking down everything he could find about auras. He found plenty of information on the internet about what different groups thought the colors of auras meant, but a lot of it seemed like New Age crap. He revisited all of the reputable sites he’d found when he’d first discovered magic, but there wasn’t much there and what there was pretty much echoed Deaton’s book. No one had written anything that sounded like what he’d seen. He posted on the forum he trusted, but either no one knew or they weren’t willing to talk about it. Not to him, at least.

In between researching auras, he looked into Allison and the Argents. A quick use of his dad’s login to the police system provided him with the case file from the fire. A little more digging provided him with the Argent family tree. Allison’s father did have a sister named Kate. It didn’t take him long to determine that Allison’s aunt was indeed the Kate Argent who had tried to burn down the Hale house with him in it. Apparently, Allison and her father had actually lived in Beacon Hills at the time of the fire. Kate’s father had moved right after the fire and Chris’s family were gone within a year. Stiles tracked their movements from city to city, but he couldn’t determine if the frequent movement had to do with Chris Argent’s job or if their branch of the family actually was Hunters. It certainly seemed a little shady to him. Especially considering Allison’s mother had died in a “hunting accident” two years ago. 

So, failing any concrete evidence, Stiles took his investigation to the next logical step. He started to watch Allison almost as much as Scott watched Allison. He had three classes with her, and lunch, but it didn’t give him a large sample for observations. Allison seemed like a nice enough person in class. She raised her hand no more or less than anyone else. She was smart, but not Lydia level of genius. Allison sat with Lydia’s group at lunch, but didn’t seem to look down on the rest of the populace the way most of that crowd did. She was polite to both teachers and classmates. She smiled at Scott’s attempts at flirting and was pretty clearly flirting right back. 

Stiles overheard Allison make an excuse to Lydia not to go to her start of the year party, which was odd, but she changed her mind and said yes when Scott asked her to go as friends. Stiles watched them at the party and while Scott did keep his promise to introduce her to some of their classmates, Allison didn’t linger to talk to any of them once Scott moved on. Stiles went out with them again when they went bowling with Lydia and Jackson, again only as friends. He chauffeured Allison and Scott around town when Scott wanted to show her some of his favorite spots. Stiles even used that opportunity to get Allison to the veterinary clinic to meet Deaton. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. He was considering talking Scott into finally asking Allison out officially just so they could go on a date without feeling the need to have a friend buffer, which would allow Stiles to get into her house to snoop. But, he was sidetracked by other events before he put that plan into action.

The first week of December, Stiles came home to find his dad slumped over asleep at the kitchen table with files spread all over the place and two evidence boxes on the floor next to him. Stiles dropped his bag by the stairs and came over to survey the mess. He took one glance at his father and turned around to start a fresh pot of coffee for him. It looked like this was going to be a long night for the Sheriff. If the contents of the files were that bad, Noah would be going for either coffee or whiskey before the night was over. Stiles preferred to head him off and keep the coffee flowing. 

He eyed the mess on the table and scrapped the plans he’d made for dinner. Instead he went to the phone and called in an order for a pizza with lots of vegetables. His father was so tired that he didn’t even wake up. Stiles slowly inched forward. He used a touch of his magic to silently slide out the chair across the table from his father. He slid into it slowly, not wanting to draw his father’s attention. What he found was disturbing enough that his father would definitely put it all away as soon as he woke up and realized Stiles was there. So, he carefully took his phone out of his pocket and typed in a quick note with all the file numbers he could see before he dared to lean close enough to read any of them. 

From what he could put together in a glance, it appeared as if there had been a series of animal attacks. But, as he saw the locations, he noticed that they were spread out throughout the county and the next county over. He recognized the date of one of the attacks as being Scott’s birthday and vaguely recalled his father mentioning something about an attack at the county line that night. The next attack had been inside Beacon County, but still close to the Clark County line if he remembered correctly. There was another further into the county. Last night’s attack had been only one town over. 

Stiles gave in to his curiosity and slid out of the chair to move around behind his father. He leaned as close as he dared and snapped several quick pictures. He shoved his phone back into his pocket as soon as he was done. Only then did he lean in close enough to actually examine the wounds. They looked identical in pretty much all of the pictures.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he father asked as he cracked open an eye. 

Stiles backed away and gave his dad room to sit up and stretch. He was saved from having to answer by the doorbell ringing. Stiles shot his father a sheepish look as he retreated to the doorway. He paid for the pizza and returned, plopping it down on the corner of the table, well away from his dad’s papers, which his dad was starting to put away with a pointed look at Stiles.

He held up his hands in surrender. “Just wanted to see what had you working so hard,” Stiles said. He set a cup of coffee down by his dad’s elbow and then went to retrieve some plates. Noah looked suspicious, but didn’t argue when Stiles handed him a plate full of pizza. 

His dad gave the broccoli and spinach a disgusted look, but ate anyways. Stiles grabbed his own plate and retreated into the living room. A few minutes later his dad joined him. Stiles flipped around until he found some Blue Bloods reruns, then settled in with his pizza. He cracked a smile at his dad’s complaints about how the show didn’t depict how police really did things, but Stiles knew that Noah secretly loved the show. After a few episodes, the coffee had kicked in and his dad had perked up. 

Stiles cleared their plates and put away the one remaining slice of pizza. He didn’t touch the box of files because he knew his dad would know if he moved anything. Instead he grabbed his bag and retreated to his room. Once his door was securely closed, he connected his phone to his computer and uploaded the pictures he’d taken to a directory buried deep within subfolders, deeper than where he kept his porn. 

Once the files were secure, Stiles started to go over what he’d taken. He looked over at the map he’d made of the lay lines. He found another copy of the map he’d used and started a new map, this one marking the cases his dad had been looking over. There were only four dots in the county and three more in Clark County, but they were clearly in a line heading straight towards Beacon Hills. Stiles stashed the map away and flicked his screen to Wikipedia when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

“I’ve got to head into work,” his dad said as he poked his head into the room. 

Stiles nodded. “Stay safe,” he called after his dad. He waited until he heard the front door close and the cruiser’s engine start before turning back to his computer. Stiles pulled out the bottle of Adderall he kept in his desk drawer and popped one, then logged into the police database. He searched for similar animal attacks and came up with quite a long list. It took him the rest of the weekend, and looking at a lot of really gruesome pictures, before he had a list of similar cases. 

Some of the victims had an unidentified black goo around their mouths. These ones he marked down on the map as clearly being the same pattern. Others only had the same claw marks. Those were harder to decide. He marked them in a different color, but he was pretty sure it was the same creature who’d made all the marks. The same violent behavior behind the attacks. Stiles was certain that it was a supernatural being that was causing the deaths, but he couldn’t figure out what sort of creature it was. There wasn’t enough evidence to determine what kind of creature, but he could tell it was an intelligent one. These attacks weren’t just random encounters with a rabid beast.

There was a pattern there, one that moved around the country seemingly without reason, but the similarities between the attacks were too distinct to dismiss. The creature moved here and there, going west then north, south then east, with no set trajectory, except for the occasional lines connecting one place to another. There was definitely a clear line from Los Angeles to Beacon Hills in the past month. Stiles just hoped that whatever it was that caused the attacks was just passing through.

He kept monitoring the police radios, but there were no new attacks by the time Christmas break came. Either the creature had moved on without leaving any more bodies, or it had holed up somewhere for the winter. His dad was back to his normal schedule. He didn’t mention the animal attacks again. 

On Christmas Eve, Stiles and his dad had their traditional dinner with Scott and Melissa. Stiles showed up early and had already put a turkey in the oven to roast before Melissa was even awake, but she was used to him randomly showing up and didn’t comment as she came downstairs. Scott woke up around noon and came into the kitchen to keep them company while they prepared the usual Christmas feast. Neither Stiles nor Melissa trusted him to do anything other than stir, so Scott was mostly relegated to fetching things. His dad arrived around four, still in uniform from his shift and carrying their bag of gifts for the McCalls. Scott and Stiles set the table while his dad stashed the gifts under the tree. 

It was quiet as they all sat down together and dug into the food. Stiles was a bit proud of the compliments he got on his cooking. He knew it wasn’t something that normal teenage boys were into, but it kept his dad healthy. And he was actually starting to get pretty good at it. He accepted the compliments awkwardly and turned the attention to Mrs. McCall instead. 

Gift time was a lot more boisterous as Stiles and Scott tore into their gifts from each other and from the other’s parent. Tomorrow, Melissa and Scott would exchange gifts and he and his dad would, but it felt just as much like family to him. And, the gifts were just as awesome. He was actually kind of touched that Melissa gave him some fancy new running sneakers. Stiles’s interest in running may have started out as an escape from his magic, but he considered it a thoughtful gift all the same. He planned to put them to use that weekend. He kind of missed his frequent trips into the woods after school and all of his research had stolen his free time in the last few months. He made plans to go for a walk with Scott that weekend. 

Christmas day was much more low key. Stiles still wasn’t sleeping much, so he was up before his father. He made a hearty breakfast for both of them. Then, they settled down in the living room and exchanged gifts. They took turns watching the movies they’d gotten each other and eating leftovers from the previous night. Eventually they both fell asleep on the couch. Stiles woke up first and got his dad to go up to bed, following him up the stairs to try to sleep some more. It didn’t work, but he made a valiant effort before starting up one of his new games. 

Saturday, he waited until Scott got back from exchanging gifts with Allison before they drove out of the preserve. Scott had on a new sweater that Allison had given him. It was cold, but not cold enough to snow. He made sure that he had one of Scott’s inhalers on him, just in case. Stiles wasn’t going to try to run with Scott along. Instead, they walked slowly along the path, talking about the gifts they’d received from their parents, the coming semester of school, and, of course, Allison. 

“So, this really helps with your magic stuff?” Scott asked when they were deep in the woods. Stiles looked over at Scott questioningly. 

“It’s just,” Scott continued, “you seem different when we’re out here. More relaxed, less jittery.” He shrugged.

For a minute, Stiles looked out at the woods around them. “At peace,” he said eventually. “Deaton said I have an affinity towards the elements. Being surrounded by them…” He waved a hand at the trees around them. “Apparently it both boosts my magic and calms it down.” Looking up the Hale house fire had reminded him of how much time he used to spend out here as a kid. “It’s been that way ever since I was a kid,” he told Scott. “Remember how I used to visit the Hales with mom? I’d go walking in the woods with Grandma Vera and then tell you all those stories about the things I’d seen? I thought the forest was magical, but I guess maybe it was just me.”

Scott’s face lit up with excitement. “Do you think that means that those things were real? Like the creatures in the books you showed me?”

Stiles looked around at the woods as he considered that. His magic hadn’t really bothered him until recently, but he must have always had it. Maybe those creatures had been attracted to his magic back then? He shrugged. “Probably,” he said eventually. “I don’t really remember them clear enough to name what types they were.”

Scott nodded. They both fell silent, watching the woods and imagining all of the things that could be hidden out there, deep in the parts of the preserve that humans never ventured into. The woods around them were still as they walked. Even the birds must have found somewhere warmer to be. They walked in silence for a bit until Scott shook his head. He turned to Stiles as another thought occurred to him. “Hey, has Deaton taught you anything new? It’s been ages since you’ve shown me a new trick.” Scott’s whole body practically lit up with excitement at the prospect. “Come on Stiles, use your magic,” he begged. 

Stiles laughed and shook his head. “He hasn’t really taught me anything that exciting lately,” he admitted. “We’ve moved on to active defense, but I can’t really show you any of that unless he’s around to lob magic at me. And we’ve been working on figuring out my aura thing, but all that is is me sitting in a coffee shop staring at people and then comparing notes with Deaton.” He shrugged. “Nothing exciting.” 

“Aww.” Scott sounded disappointed. “What about the stuff you’ve been studying on your own?” He shot a look over at Stiles and snorted. “Don’t even try and deny it dude. I know you’ve still been reading things on your own. And you have that book of spells you found.” He continued when Stiles didn’t say anything. “Come on Stiles, show me some magic.”

“I haven’t really had a chance to try any of the spells I’ve been reading about,” Stiles admitted. He stopped walking to consider the possibilities. “I mean, I’m not exactly going to try a fire spell in the middle of my bedroom.” He waved a hand at the trees around them. “The middle of the forest isn’t exactly the best place for them either,” he pointed out. He saw Scott’s attention focus on the forest behind him. Scott’s eyes widened. Stiles could only guess what he might be imagining. He had certainly pictured all the ways it could go horribly wrong. 

“I could try one of the water spells,” he said thoughtfully. “There’s a stream up ahead that I could probably use.”

Scott’s mouth dropped open. He started to back away slowly. “Stiles,” he said. His voice choked off in a whimper. Scott raised a hand to point behind Stiles. “Really, dude, use your magic.”

Stiles whipped around to see what Scott was staring at. He spotted it instantly, a black form moving in between the trees. For a moment, he hoped it was just a deer or something, but then he saw glowing red eyes staring at him. Really unnaturally bright, angry, glowing red eyes. 

Stiles backed away slowly. He had a second of hope that the creature would stay in the woods. Then, it began to stalk forward. “Scott,” Stiles said softly. Once he had his friend’s attention he turned. “Run!”

They took off running down the trail, but he knew there was no possible way they could reach the Jeep before the creature caught up to them. Stiles tried the first spell that came to mind. He threw a shield up in the creature’s path. He felt when the beast hit it like he’d taken the hit himself. That thing was as strong as any of the lacrosse players he’d taken hits from. It sent him staggering, but he managed to keep up with Scott. Hopefully, it had been enough to at least daze the creature. He didn’t hear anything behind them, so he was sure they’d got a bit of a lead, but he didn’t think it would last long.

He risked slowing down for a second to look behind him. The thing wasn’t there anymore. He looked around to try and find it in the woods, but there wasn’t anything there. Scott was puffing ahead of him, his breath sounding on the verge of an asthma attack. “Keep going Scott,” he called. “Take a hit off your inhaler if you need to, but we've got to keep moving.”

Scott nodded, fumbling his inhaler out of his pocket. He dropped it and would have stopped to pick it up. Stiles grabbed his arm and thrust the spare he’d carried into Scott’s hand instead. He helped Scott get the inhaler into his mouth once, then a second time. It didn’t help Scott’s breathing much, but he hoped it would be enough to prevent a full attack. Stiles stuffed the inhaler back into his pocket.

He looked around, trying to figure out how far out they were. They’d been walking for a while. They should have been at least halfway through the trail. It shouldn’t be too much longer before they were back at the parking lot. “Not too much further,” he reassured Scott. 

“I’ll be fine,” Scott huffed out. 

Stiles slowed down again to check around them. It looked like the creature had decided to leave them alone. There wasn’t a hint of him back the way they’d come.

He whipped around again when Scott screamed. He turned just in time to see Scott fall to the ground. The creature had its jaws wrapped around Scott’s calf. It didn’t let got when Scott hit the ground. Instead, it slowly began to pull him into the woods. Scott screamed, kicking ineffectually at the thing’s head, but it didn’t seem to deter it any. 

Stiles looked around, trying to find something to use as a weapon. He couldn’t find anything and he couldn’t concentrate with Scott’s screaming. He ran toward Scott. The beast growled at him and dropped Scott’s leg. It hunched backwards as if preparing to leap. It jumped. Stiles panicked. He raised his hands up with a shout and felt a wave of magic leave him. He flinched as a wave of fire and wind slammed into the beast. It knocked the creature back a good yard, sending it rolling across the ground. 

The beast came to a stop and sprang to its feet. It growled as it charged back at them. Stiles hit it with another blast of wind and fire. It took the hit and sprung back towards them, so Stiles hit it with another blast. He could smell the fur burning away under his flames, but the beast seemed to be recovering quickly, almost as if it were healing itself. Stiles forced more strength into his magic, turning the flames white hot. That made the beast whimper and limp away. It cast one last glance over its shoulder at them as it escaped into the woods.

Below him Scott gasped as he fought to catch his breath. Stiles looked down at his friend. His leg looked pretty bad. He cast one more glance out at the woods around them before throwing a shield up around them. Only then did he kneel down. He helped get Scott propped up against a tree and handed over the inhaler again. Once his breathing started to slow down, Stiles turned to look at Scott's leg. He winced at the bloody torn fabric of Scott’s jeans, almost afraid of what he’d find. He carefully peeled back the fabric. There was a clear bite mark on Scott’s calf, and it was pretty bloody, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Stiles had certainly seen enough crime scene photos of how bad an animal attack could be to be able to make that estimate.

He tried to remember all of the spells that he’d found in his book. He thought he remembered there being a healing spell, but he wasn’t sure if he remembered it correctly. He glanced up at Scott. His friend had his eyes closed and his teeth gritted as he tried to cope with the pain. They weren’t going to be able to get back to the Jeep unless Stiles did something. 

Carefully, he laid a hand on the skin of Scott’s leg on either side of the wound. He pushed his magic into the wound very slowly. He concentrated on what he wanted the magic to do. He pictured Scott’s leg healing in his mind. Ever so slowly the bleeding stopped. He watched as the wound began to close. The jagged edges disappeared. Then, his vision began to blur. 

Stiles pulled back his magic quickly. He let out a gasp as the shields around them failed. Stiles shook his head against a wave of exhaustion. He looked over at Scott. Thankfully, he looked better. “Think you can walk now?” he asked.

Scott opened his eyes. He looked down at his leg and then back up at Stiles in surprise. Slowly, Scott used the tree to push himself upright. He shifted his weight until he was resting it on his injured leg. Scott grimaced, but was able to hobble forward. “I can manage,” he said. He looked towards where the creature had disappeared. “I certainly don’t want to stay here.”

“Definitely not,” Stiles agreed. He put his arm around Scott and let him rest his weight on him instead of his injured leg. They took a few wobbling steps back towards the path. Eventually, they got a system working and started to get a decent pace going. As they walked, Stiles kept his magic at the ready. His fingertips buzzed with the unused energy, but he didn’t want to be taken by surprise again. If he even caught a glimpse of movement, he was ready to throw up a shield. Nothing moved.

They made it back to the Jeep without any further surprises. Stiles helped Scott into the passenger side and then quickly circled the car. He practically threw himself into his seat. He gunned the engine and drove as fast as he could out of the preserve. Only when they’d crossed back into town did he relax. 

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital to get that checked out?” he asked.

Scott poked at his wound. He shook his head. “They’d tell mom and then I’d never hear the end of it.” He measured the width of the bite with his fingers. “Besides, how do we explain the bite? Say a wolf did it?”

Stiles snorted. “There are no wolves in California.” He stopped at a red light and glanced down at Scott’s leg. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but he felt like they should do something about the bite. He tried to remember if he’d read anything about treating bite wounds. Then he realized they had a ready source of information for that. He turned on his blinker and changed course.

“Where are you going?” Scott asked as they turned in the opposite direction from either of their houses. 

“Deaton,” he said with a wave of his hand as he pulled into the clinic’s parking lot. “He can check you for supernatural rabies.”

Scott rolled his eyes. Then he paused. “Is that a thing?”

Stiles snorted. “No, Scott,” he said with a laugh. He came around the Jeep to help Scott hobble towards the building. The clinic had closed half an hour ago, but Deaton’s car was still there. Stiles banged on the glass before Scott grabbed his hand. 

“I have a key,” Scott pointed out. Before he could dig his keys out of his pocket, Deaton was there turning the lock. He and Scott practically fell through the door in their rush to get inside.

“What can I do for you boys?” Deaton asked as he stepped aside. He glanced out at the parking lot behind them as he shut and locked the door again. When he turned back to them, his eyes immediately went to the wound on Scott’s leg. “Why don’t you come with me?” 

Deaton held open the gate for them and motioned for them to go into the back of the clinic. He lead them into the back room and had Stiles help him get Scott up onto the metal examination table. Deaton pulled out a pair of scissors. He glanced up at Scott once before setting to work cutting away the fabric around the wound. Once the area was clear he poured some type of disinfectant on the wound that made Scott hiss. Stiles clapped Scott on the shoulder reassuringly as they watched the vet clean the wound. 

“Did you heal this, Stiles?” Deaton asked, sounding a bit surprised.

Stiles shrugged. “I tried to,” he admitted. He cast an apologetic glance over at Scott, but Scott just shrugged and gave him an understanding look. “I was holding a shield up at the time and between the two I think I used up my magic too fast. That’s all I managed before I had to stop.”

The vet nodded as if that explanation made perfect sense. “We’ll have to work on building up your reserves,” he said absently. His fingers were careful as he examined the edges of the wound. Deaton pulled out a ruler and measured the width of the bite. “Did you recognize the creature that attacked you?”

Scott and Stiles both shook their heads. “It was moving pretty quickly,” Scott said.

“It was kind of canine, like a wolf but bigger,” Stiles said. He tried to remember as many details as he could. “Glowing red eyes. Dark fur, maybe black or a really dark brown. Claws. Teeth.” He waved a hand at Scott’s bite mark. “It was intelligent,” he continued. “It avoided the path after it hit my first shield, disappeared into the woods. It was fast and it knew how to use the woods for cover.” He replayed the attack in his mind. “It was either resistant to fire or able to heal quicker than normal. I was throwing some pretty serious fire at it.”

Deaton nodded, but didn’t look up from where he was applying a bandage to Scott’s leg. “There are a couple possibilities,” Deaton said thoughtfully. “Werewolves would be most likely, but loners are usually insane.” He looked over at Stiles. “What other possibilities are there?”

“Hellhound,” he replied immediately, then hesitated. “It would explain the fire resistance, but I didn’t notice if there was a brimstone or rotting odor.”

Scott snorted. “It’s breath was pretty rank,” he supplied. 

Stiles shot Scott a grin. He thought over the other possibilities. “We weren’t near a crossroads and I doubt there’s been any executions on that path, so I don’t think it was a Black Dog.” 

Deaton nodded. “It was a little early, but it could have been El Cadejo. But, there would have been an odor of urine or sulphur.”

Stiles looked over at Scott who simply shrugged. “I was a little busy being mauled to sniff the thing,” Scott pointed out.

He nodded. He had to give Scott that. “So we’ve got three choices,” Stiles said as he helped Scott to his feet again. “Should I have a conversation with my dad about this thing?”

Deaton hesitated. He shook his head and motioned for them to follow him into his office. “I have some contacts that I can talk to,” he said as he pulled some books out of his special shelves. He passed these over to Stiles. “Perhaps one of these will help you remember another detail about the creature.”

“Sure thing, doc.” Stiles gathered up the books. He knew how he’d be spending the last week of break.

Deaton turned to Scott. “Stiles’s magic should speed up the healing and prevent any adverse side effects, but you should take it easy for a few days,” he said seriously. “I want you to let me know immediately if you notice anything different. Even if you think it isn’t important, it might tell us what kind of creature we’re dealing with.”

Scott nodded. “I didn’t have much planned beyond video games, coffee with Allison, and the lacrosse scrimmage on Friday.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Stiles promised. He smiled at the look Scott gave him. “Hey, I can be responsible for a change.” Scott gave him another look that said just how little he believed in Stiles. “See if I heal you next time,” Stiles muttered before he was interrupted by a yawn.

“You should both get some rest,” Deaton said. He led them to the front of the clinic. Deaton let them out and then locked the doors again. 

Stiles cast one last glance back at the clinic before he stashed the books in the back of the Jeep. “You going to be alright on your own tonight or do you want to stay over at my place?” he asked as they climbed back into the Jeep.

Scott shook his head. “Mom’s expecting me home for dinner. I’ll be fine.” 

Stiles looked Scott over one last time before he nodded. He started the Jeep and turned onto the route that would take them back to Scott’s house. “Let me know if your leg starts to hurt or anything. I might be able to manage another round of magical voodoo after I get some sleep.”

The rest of the ride to Scott’s house was quiet. They said their goodbyes and Stiles watched Scott as he made his way into the house. He wasn’t even limping anymore, so that had to be a good sign. Stiles sighed and turned the Jeep towards his own house. He had some reading to do.


	7. So You Think Your Best Friend is a Werewolf

Stiles spent the rest of his winter break holed up in his room reading everything he could get his hands on regarding werewolves, hellhounds, and cadejo. He had to stop every now and then just to marvel in the fact that hellhounds were apparently a thing. He’d been too hopped up on adrenaline and magic at the time to think much about it, but Deaton had definitely confirmed that they were a thing. Next to that, werewolves and cadejo seemed almost boring. He still did his research on them. And, he kept tabs on Scott.

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Monday 10:32 am

_you haven’t started to grow fangs and claws have you?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Monday 4:47 pm

_still can’t believe hellhounds are real_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Monday 4:48 pm

_you sure you didn’t smell any sulfur?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Monday 4:49 pm 

_brimstone?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Tuesday 2:38 am

_did it smell like a goat?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Tuesday 1:15 pm

_would you be a black or white one?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Tuesday 1:16 pm

_if you turned into a cadejo_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Tuesday 1:17 pm

_can you turn into a cadejo from a bite?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Tuesday 10:03 pm

_or does it just turn you crazy?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Wednesday 11:42 am

_you’re not feeling crazy are you?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Wednesday 3:53 pm

_i’m not, so i don’t think we have to worry about that_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
12:32 pm

_dude, would you at least text me back so i know you haven’t died_

Stiles threw his phone down on the comforter, giving in to the fact that Scott had finally gotten tired of listening to him talk about magic and the supernatural. Or, he didn't want to listen to Stiles badger him about the attack. Stiles glanced at the clock and swore. He was going to be late for his meeting with Deaton. His phone chimed as he moved to pick it back up.

From: Beam Me Up Scotty  
12:46 pm

_still alive_

Stiles chuckled. At least Scott answered that… He pocketed his phone and grabbed his bag. Stiles kept one eye on the clock the entire time he was driving and managed to get to the vet clinic only five minutes late. He flew out of the Jeep and rushed into the building. He pulled open the door and reached for the latch to the gate into the back area. Stiles stopped short when he heard voices coming down the hallway towards him. His fingers hesitated over the latch. 

“I’ll keep an eye open, Alan,” Talia Hale said as she rounded the corner. Deaton appeared behind her. Talia’s eyes widened slightly and her nostrils flared as she spotted Stiles, as if she was surprised he was there. “Hello, Stiles,” she greeted him as she stepped into the front room. The sound triggered his memories of all the times he’d gone over to the Hale house as a kid. All the time he’d spent there with his mom. “It’s good to see you after so long.”

Stiles shook himself a little to break free of the memories. He opened the latch and held the gate open for Talia to step through. “Yeah, it’s good to see you, too,” he said softly. He forced himself to smile. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since Nicholas’s graduation two years ago.”

Talia smiled at him softly. She rested a hand on his shoulder briefly, almost as if she could sense the sadness in him. “I know it won’t be the same without Claudia, but you and your father are welcome to come over and visit anytime,” she said. “I’m sure Nicholas would love to catch up when he’s home over break.”

“Sure, sounds great.” He stepped through the gate and let it swing shut behind him. “Scott would probably love to show off how much his lacrosse skills have improved.” He continued at the curious look Talia gave him. “Nicholas used to practice with us when we were trying out for the lacrosse team.”

“Ah.” Talia’s smile widened a little. Her gaze traveled from Stiles to Deaton and back again. “Are you working here now? I don’t remember you mentioning being interested in becoming a veterinarian before.”

Stiles had to laugh a little awkwardly at that. He floundered for a minute as he tried to decide how to answer that. “No,” he says with another laugh. “Scott is training to be one. I just help out sometimes.”

Deaton stepped up beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Stiles helps with the office, not the animals,” he said with a smile. “You can go ahead back there and put your bag down.”

He nodded. “It was nice seeing you, Mrs. Hale,” he called over his shoulder as he moved down the hall into the back of the clinic. He heard Deaton talking again, but the words were too low for him to make out. It wasn’t until he passed by the empty exam rooms and slumped down in his usual chair in Deaton’s office that he realized that Talia hadn’t had an animal with her. And, as far as he remembered, the family had never had any kind of pet. He supposed that they could have gotten one in the last two years, but it seemed a little odd to him. 

“How’s Scott doing?” Deaton asked as he came into the room and closed the door behind him.

Stiles shrugged. “Still alive,” he said with a small smile. “He’s hanging out with Allison a lot this week, so I haven’t actually seen him. And apparently I was texting him too much…” He shrugged again. “I’ll see him tomorrow at the lacrosse game.”

Deaton nodded. His expression was carefully blank. “You’ll let me know if his bite hasn’t healed or if he shows any side effects from the bite?” Deaton relaxed when Stiles nodded. “Now, unless you have any questions on the books I gave you, I think we should practice your defensive shield.”

Stiles groaned. He felt a tingle of magic when Deaton put shields up around the room as he usually did before they began using magic. Stiles gathered his magic. He resigned himself to having to take a nap on the couch in the back room before he’d have enough energy to drive home and sleep more. He threw up his shield and braced himself for the first attack.

********

Stiles grabbed Scott’s arm and held him back while the rest of the team went out onto the field. “Dude, how’s your bite healing?” he whispered.

Scott rolled his eyes, but put his foot up on a bench and pulled up his pants. “Whatever you and Deaton did worked,” Scott said as he revealed the now perfectly healed skin where the bite mark had been. “It was healed within a day or two.”

Stiles stared at Scott’s leg as his friend readjusted his pant leg. Scott grabbed hold of his arm this time, steering him out of the locker room. It took Stiles’s brain a few minutes to catch up, but when it did he had to smile. His healing had actually worked really effectively. He felt quite proud of himself considering he’d been making it up on the go.

He kept an eye on Scott while they went through the usual stretches and warm up. Logically he knew it had been almost a week since the attack and the related asthma attack and Scott's lungs were healed just as much as his leg is, but he can't help being worried. He came a little too close to losing Scott on Saturday and that freaked him out quite a bit. Scott could deal with Stiles being a little too overprotective for the next few days.

Allison jogged over while the team was milling about waiting for Finstock and the other coach to finish conferring. Scott practically floated over to her. “Lydia invited me to her New Year’s party tomorrow night,” she said with a smile. “I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?”

Scott's mouth dropped open. “As a date?” he asked.

Allison's smile became softer, almost shy. “Yeah,” she answered. “As a date.”

Scott's mouth opened and closed in surprise and Stiles had to resist snorting and ruining the moment. It had been pretty fucking obvious where their relationship was headed, but Scott seemed to be trapped in disbelief. Unfortunately, Finstock was on his way back over so the romantic moment was over. 

“He’d love to,” Stiles said as he grabbed Scott and steered his back towards the team. Not a moment later he heard Coach yell, “Let’s go! Gather ‘round! Bring it in!”

Finstock continued once the team was paying attention. “Alright, so I know this is just a friendly scrimmage,” he said, “but I want you to go out there and crush them!” The team let out a cheer at that. Stiles was a little disappointed that they weren't getting the speech from Independence Day again. He loved coach's speeches.

“Alright geniuses, listen up.” Finstock rapped on his clipboard to get their attention. “Now, you may have noticed that we’re a few players short.” He waited while the less observant members of the team looked around. “Due to the recent pinkeye epidemic, thanks Greenburg, the following people have made first line on a probationary basis, emphasis on the word probationary: Rodriguez, Taylor, McCall, and Bilinski.” 

Stiles couldn’t help the whoop of joy he let out at that. He quickly stamped it down at the glare Finstock shot him. Instead, he settled for a stealthy fistbump with Scott. They were both grinning as they jogged out onto the field with the rest of the team. The game itself was only a scrimmage, not actually a scored match, but the team was pretty pumped up anyways.

Jackson started calling out orders and the team took positions around their half of the field. The whistle blew and Jackson snagged the ball, running down the field. He pivoted and tossed it to Rodriguez who in turn passed it to another player closer to the goal. Stiles raced down the field after them. He forgot about watching Scott in the chaos of people moving around the field. 

The other team was good, but the Beacon Hills team was just as good, maybe even better. Stiles had to appreciate the fact that literally running from his problems last semester had increased both his speed and stamina. He kept up with Jackson and the others easily. Surprisingly, when he ended up running next to Scott, he noticed that Scott was doing pretty good, too. He wasn’t breathing as heavily, but he seemed to be wisely not pushing himself too hard either.

The whistle was blown when Jackson scored another goal. Finstock stalked over to them. He grabbed hold of Scott’s arm and leaned in close. “Come on, McCall, my grandmother can move faster than that. Do you think you can move faster than my lifeless, dead grandma?”

Stiles rolled his eyes, but Scott just nodded. “Yes, Coach,” Scott said. His voice came out a bit heavy through his helmet. Stiles tried to listen for a second to Scott’s breathing, but the whistle blew to resume the game and Scott was off. Stiles was rooted to the spot with surprise at how fast Scott was suddenly moving. He quickly shook himself off and ran down the field after the rest of the team. Stiles kept one eye on the ball and the other on Scott. This was even easier when Scott performed some kind of leap and turn and intercepted the other team’s pass. Scott took off in the opposite direction towards the other team’s goal. Stiles’s mouth dropped open as Scott barreled past the other players, twisting around one to finally snap his stick and send the ball flying into the net.

“Ah! We got ourselves a player!” Finstock shouted from somewhere behind him.

Stiles grabbed Scott’s arm as he moved past him. “Dude,” he hissed. “What was that?”

Scott’s turned to look at him with wide eyes. He pulled Stiles along with him as they took up positions again. “I don’t know,” he whispered back. “I just had this burst of energy.” This whistle blew again, cutting off anything else Scott could say. 

The ball came into play and Stiles stuck close to Scott. He caught the ball when it was passed to him, but was quickly blocked by two of the other team’s players. He looked around for an opening and spotted Scott. Stiles mentally crossed his fingers and tossed it as fast as he could to Scott. Stiles caught a brief flash of gold as Scott caught the ball. His friend crouched down then practically soared across the field. He knocked one player out the way. Two players moved to block him, but Scott jumped up, flipped over them and made the goal. The small crowd went wild at the shot.

“What the fuck was that, McCall?” Finstock shouted. Stiles glanced back and saw that Coach had a huge grin on his face. “What the fuck was that,” he said again, shaking his head.

Stiles caught the ball a few times when it was passed to him, but the rest of the game might as well have been the Scott show. He could see Jackson becoming more and more furious and the other team was practically seething at getting shut out, but nothing seemed to stop Scott. Even when Jackson tried to keep the other players from passing the ball to Scott, he managed to intercept the ball when the other team got it. 

The game was called with Beacon Hills having a solid victory. The field was a mass of chaos as the spectators came down and mingled with the celebrating players. The whole team was invited to Lydia’s party, which made the guys even more excited. The locker room was even more a mess than normal as they all shed their equipment. Stiles tried to catch Scott to talk to him, but Scott mentioned something about needing to talk to Allison and didn't really pay much attention to anything else. Scott was changed and gone before Stiles even managed to shed his equipment. Stiles swore under his breath as he struggled into his regular clothes. He sent Scott a text to meet him at his house the next day. He tried to emphasize that they really, really needed to talk. He stared at his phone and hoped that Scott pulled himself away from Allison long enough to show up. Something was definitely not right.

*************

Stiles stared at his computer intently as he printed out yet another article. He pulled one of the books that Deaton had lent him closer, using it to cross reference what he’d found on the site. He nearly fell out of the chair when someone knocked on the door to his room.

“Get in here,” Stiles said to Scott after he opened the door. “You gotta see this thing. I’ve been reading this stuff all week, but I didn’t really look at this stuff that closely. I was up all night and I managed to find more - websites, books, all this information.”

“How much Adderall have you had?” Scott asked cautiously. 

“A lot,” Stiles admitted. “Doesn’t matter. Okay, just listen…”

“Oh, is this about your magic? The things you’ve been seeing?” Scott dropped his bag on the floor and sat down on the bed. He looked around at all the books and papers scattered around the room. 

“No, Deaton and I are still working on that, though we…” Stiles shook his head. “Nevermind, that’s not it.”

“What, then?” Scott asked. He idly straightened the papers around him on the bed without seeming to notice what was on them. 

“Remember that thing the other day?” Scott just gave him a blank look. “The thing that we thought might be a hellhound or cadejo, that bit you in the woods?” Stiles clarified. “I started doing all this reading. Do you even know why a wolf howls?”

“Should I?” Scott asked skeptically.

“It’s a signal, okay? When a wolf’s alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack. So, if you ever hear a wolf howling, that means there are others nearby. Maybe even a whole pack of ‘em. Which is why Deaton thought it was so odd that there was one alone, because if it’s alone it should be insane, but the thing we saw wasn’t insane…”

Scott held up a hand as he cut Stiles off. “Why are we talking about packs of wolves?” he asked.

“We’re not,” Stiles corrected. “We’re talking about werewolves. Of which you are now one.” He waited a second for that to sink in, but Scott just shot to his feet with a disgusted look.

“Are you seriously wasting my time with this?” Scott scoffed and grabbed his bag. “You know I’m picking up Allison in an hour.”

He rested a hand on Scott’s shoulder and tried to convey how entirely serious he was. “I saw you on the field yesterday, Scott. Okay, what you did wasn’t just amazing, all right? It was also impossible.”

“What, so, I made a couple good shots.” Scott seemed to entirely dismiss Stiles’s concern as he tried to push past him. 

Stiles moved to block the path to the door. “No, you made an incredible shot. I mean, the way you moved, your speed, your reflexes. People can’t just suddenly do that overnight. And don’t even think I don’t notice that you don’t need your inhaler anymore.”

“Okay,” Scott interrupted. “Dude, I can’t think about this now. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!?” Stiles ran a hand through his hair as he tried to wrap his mind around how entirely not getting it Scott was. “What? Don’t you get it? The full moon’s tonight!” He pulled out a calendar and shoved it towards Scott. “Werewolves plus full moon equals bad idea!”

“What are you trying to do?” Scott yelled. He took the calendar from Stiles and threw it off to the side. “I just had my first shot at first line. I’ve got a date with a girl who I can’t believe wants to go out with me, and everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?”

Stiles sank down into his desk chair and shuffled his papers for a minute as he tried to bite back the hurt he felt. He took a deep breath and turned to Scott again. “I’m trying to help. You’re cursed, Scott. You know, and it’s not just that the moon will cause you to physically change. It also so happens that it will be when your bloodlust will be at its peak.”

“Bloodlust?” Scott asked with a blank expression. Stiles couldn’t tell if Scott believed him or was just humoring him.

“Yeah, your urge to kill,” Stiles explained softly.

“I’m already starting to feel an urge to kill, Stiles.”

Stiles scrambled to pull one of the books from his pile. “You gotta hear this.” He pulled it open and began to summarize what he'd read. “The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse. All right? Lacrosse was definitely raising your pulse and I haven’t seen anyone or anything else raise your pulse like Allison does.” He tossed the book down on his desk and started to pace. “You gotta cancel this date.” 

His gaze settled on Scott’s backpack. He pulled open the zipper and dug out Scott’s phone. “What are you doing?” Scott asked.

“I’m going to call her right now,” Stiles explained as he unlocked the phone and thumbed through the menus. “I’m canceling the date.”

“No, give it to me!” Scott yelled. Stiles was taken by surprise when Scott slammed him against the wall. He stared as Scott pulled his fist back. Stiles hesitated, ready to bring his shields up if necessary, but Scott released him, lashing out at the chair instead. 

He and Scott stared at each other for a few moments as Scott caught his breath. “I’m sorry,” Scott said, looking away. “I’ve gotta go get ready for that party.” Stiles couldn’t bring himself to move as Scott grabbed his bag and headed for the door. “I’m sorry,” Scott said, glancing in his direction one more time before closing the door behind him.

Stiles let out his breath in a long exhale as he fought down a little bit of panic. He stared at the closed door for a moment longer before pushing away from the wall. He started to pick up his chair, but stopped when he saw the slashes in the back. Stiles let out another long breath. It took him a few minutes to calm down enough to reach his magic, but eventually he was able to pull it out into his fingertips. The slashes closed under his touch. 

He righted his chair and sank down in it. Stiles pulled out the small leather bound book that he’d found in the library. He hadn’t delved too deeply into in after he’d started training with Deaton, but maybe there was something in there that could help him with Scott. Stiles almost dropped the book when he started to read the last section. This wasn’t just a book of spells. The book mentioned werewolves!

Stiles frantically flipped through the pages until he found the exact spell that he needed. He slammed the book down on top of his printer and mashed the copy button. While the printer was working away, he flung open the chest where he kept the supplies Deaton had given him. It took him a couple minutes of shifting things around until he found the pouch of mountain ash. He shoved the pouch into his pocket and checked his copy. Stiles glanced at the clock. He still had an hour until the party, plenty of time to memorize the spell before he had to go.

As usual with one of Lydia’s parties, almost the entire school showed up whether they’d been invited or not. Stiles felt a little bit of pride that he actually had been invited for a change, even if it was just as part of the lacrosse team. Finding Scott and Allison proved to be somewhat difficult. He worked his way through the living room, mingling like he normally would. He tried to spot someone he knew, who might also know where Scott was. He made his way into the kitchen, snagging a drink to hold so he could blend in. He didn’t see Scott and Allison in the den and when he went outside by the pool, he couldn’t find them there either. He moved back into the living room and considered the merits of staying in one place in hopes that either Scott or Allison would eventually come into the room. It turned out that he didn’t have to find Scott. His friend practically crashed into him as he staggered his way through the living room. “Yo, Scott, you good?” he called.

Scott didn’t respond. Stiles trailed after him, following him outside and watching from the doorway as Scott climbed into his car and drove off. He took a minute to be proud of his friend for actually doing the responsible thing and removing himself for the situation. Then he remember that Scott had been Allison’s ride. Allison, who had somehow beaten him outside and was now standing on the sidewalk staring after the car in disbelief. Stiles blinked as movement from across the street caught his eye. Allison, who was now being watched by something that looked uncannily like the thing that bit Scott.

“Yo, Allison,” Stiles called. Allison turned and walked towards him, meeting him at the bottom of the steps leading up to Lydia’s house. Stiles glanced behind her and was relieved to see that whatever the thing was, it was gone now. “Scott’s not feeling well and didn’t want to get sick in front of everyone at the party. Do you want me to give you a ride home?”

Allison glanced back down the road in the direction that Scott had driven. “Shouldn’t we go check on him?”

Stiles placed a hand on Allison’s back and steered her over to his Jeep. “I will be doing that right away,” he promised. “Right after I drop you off.”

Allison eyed him skeptically, but climbed into the Jeep. “I really don’t mind if you want to go check on him first,” she said. “I don’t have a curfew.”

Stiles bit back a sigh as he turned his key in the ignition. “Of course you don’t,” he muttered under his breath. He couldn’t think of a good reason to deny her. Stiles used maneuvering out of the tight spot his Jeep had gotten parked into as an excuse not to answer right away. He still couldn’t come up with anything by the time he pulled onto the street, so he just drove towards Scott’s house. “Just…” he began hesitantly. “Just promise that you’ll give me a minute to make sure it’s okay with him before you come upstairs, okay?” He glanced over at Allison. “Scott really likes you, but I don’t think he’s quite ready to have you see him throw up yet.”

Allison scrunched her nose at the image, but nodded. “I promise.” 

He practically sagged with relief. Now all he needed to do was find Scott before his friend totally lost it. Stiles cast a glance up at the moon as he pulled into the driveway beside Scott’s mom’s car. It hadn’t fully risen yet. He might still have time. “This is it,” he said as he pulled his keys out and swung himself out of the Jeep. He forced himself to keep to a normal pace as he and Allison walked up the drive. 

The next hurdle was Scott’s mom, who was, of course, home and sitting in the living room. Stiles paused in the entryway. “Allison, meet Scott’s mom,” he introduced. “Melissa, meet Scott’s date. I’m going to go make sure Scott’s not puking his guts out. Talk amongst yourselves.” He hurried up the stairs while Melissa and Allison were still staring at him with mouths open. Stiles stuck a hand into his back pocket as soon as he was at the top of the stairs. He pulled the pouch of mountain ash out and opened it. He hefted the pouch in one hand as he opened the door to Scott’s bedroom with the other. 

Scott let out a low growl and whirled towards the door. Stiles didn’t waste a second before tossing the pouch into the room. His magic spread the ash in a perfect circle around Scott. Scott lunged at him, but stopped short at the edge of the circle. 

Stiles stepped into the room and pulled the door shut behind him. He raised his hands in what he hoped was a calming gesture. Scott did not seem calmed. Stiles took a moment to study Scott as he inched closer. His friend was partially shifted into what was definitely a werewolf. His nails had elongated into claws. His face had sprouted hair all over the place and his brow ridges were more pronounced. 

“Okay, Scott,” Stiles began in a calm, soothing voice. He used his magic to slowly shrink the mountain ash circle until he had Scott pinned in place. He pulled the copy of the spell out of his pocket and glanced at it one more time. Stiles carefully folded the paper and put it away as he gathered his magic. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself. Once he felt centered, he closed his eyes and reached out to rest a hand on either side of Scott’s head. 

Scott growled, but the mountain ash held him still. Stiles let his magic pour into Scott. He opened his eyes. Stiles locked eyes with Scott as his magic flowed into his friend. “Okay, buddy,” he said quietly. “I need you to not fight me on this.” Scott’s head quirked to the side curiously. His eyes faded from gold back to brown. “That’s it,” Stiles said. “You’ve got it.” He wrapped his magic around Scott’s mind and then around his heart. He pulled a thread back into himself, mirroring the spell on his own heart and mind. For a moment nothing happened, but Stiles didn’t let his will waver. 

He staggered when the link completed. Stiles sucked in a breath when Scott sagged against the mountain ash barrier. Scott shook his head as he came back to himself. His body shifted back to normal as Stiles watched. Scott tried to move, but was stopped short by the ash. Stiles could feel Scott’s heart start to race, but his magic flowed in to calm it before Scott could wolf out again. Scott stared at him, entirely confused.

“One sec, Scott,” Stiles said. He let go of Scott’s head and stepped back. It took him a second to find where the pouch had fallen, but once he did, he broke the barrier and used his magic to put the ash back into the pouch. Stiles pulled the drawstring closed and sealed the pouch with a bit more magic before shoving it back into his pocket. 

Scott shook his head again as he collapsed down onto his bed. “What happened?” he asked groggily.

“Well,” Stiles began dryly. “You wolfed out, like I said you would, ran out of the party and came back here. Probably would be off running naked in the woods if I hadn’t gotten to you in time.”

Scott blinked at him for a second before starting upright. “Shit,” he said as he headed for the door. “I abandoned Allison at the party! I’ve got to go back and apologize.”

Stiles stopped Scott with a hand on his chest. “Whoa there, lover boy. It’s all good.” He moved in front of Scott when his friend kept trying to get to the door. “Seriously, dude. It’s fine. I told her you weren’t feeling well and that’s why you left. She’s downstairs talking to your mom.”

Scott stared at him for a minute before pushing past him. “I can’t believe you left Allison alone with my mom,” he hissed as he hurried down the hall. 

“You’re welcome, by the way,” Stiles whispered back, knowing that Scott could hear him. He shook his head and followed Scott down the stairs. 

Allison and Melissa seemed to have gotten past the awkward introduction stage. At least, they were smiling at each other and seemed to be getting along well enough. Scott had stopped dead in the middle of the living room, obviously not sure what to do with this new development. Stiles rolled his eyes. He walked up behind Scott and smacked his head. “Ask Allison if she wants anything to drink, dumbass.”

Scott glared at him out of the corner of his eye. “Allison, can I get you anything?” he asked after a moment.

“Water would be fine,” she replied politely. 

Stiles yanked on Scott’s arm before he and Allison could start making eyes at each other. He pulled Scott into the kitchen after him. Once they were safely out of earshot, he let go and turned to the refrigerator instead. Stiles stuck his head inside, inspecting the drink selection. He pulled out the pitcher of water and handed it to Scott before diving back in to retrieve two Cokes for him and Scott. “Now that you’re reassured that Allison is safe and doesn’t hate you,” he said as he closed the refrigerator door. “We should probably discuss the whole werewolf thing.”

Scott stopped dead with his hand raised up to grab a glass from the cupboard. “Holy hell, you were right,” he said slowly. “I am a werewolf.” Scott paused again. “Wait. I was out of control. I thought you said something about peak bloodlust.”

Stiles leaned around Scott to pull a bag of chips out of the corner cabinet. “Oh, the bloodlust is still there,” he assured, “just ask my poor chair.” Stiles wiggled his fingers at Scott. “I put a spell on you.” He tapped his heart and then poked Scott in the chest where his heart was. “We’re temporarily tied together, so as long as I’m calm, you’re calm.”

Scott just stared at him for a moment before carefully pulling the glass out of the cupboard and beginning to fill it with water. “It’s weird,” he said as he set the pitcher aside. “It’s like, I can feel the pull of the moon. And I can feel the urge to run wild in the woods and take down a deer or something, but if I don’t think about it, it’s just not important. Instead, there’s just this warm peace.” He glances over at Stiles. “Is that what your magic feels like?”

“Yup,” he replies with a grin. “And as long as you and I stick together tonight, you won’t have any furry problems.”

Scott rolled his eyes, but he looked genuinely relieved. He put the pitcher back into the fridge and they headed back out into the living room. Melissa eyed them for a long moment before rising from the couch. “Allison, it was a pleasure meeting you,” she said with a smile. She narrowed her eyes at Scott and Stiles. “I’m going to head up to bed, but I trust you boys will behave yourselves.” Melissa ruffled Scott’s hair as she passed, then left them alone. 

Stiles flopped down on the loveseat, leaving the couch to Scott and Allison. He popped open his soda and started to dig into the bag of chips. Stiles grabbed the remote, turning on the TV and flicking around until he found some Law & Order reruns. He looked up at the clock before turning to the other two. “You have two hours before I take Allison home,” he announced, “And, yes, Scott you can come along as long as you promise not to puke in my car.” Stiles shot a grin at Scott before turning his attention back to the TV. 

He let himself get drawn into the show, ignoring it when Scott finally leaned in to kiss Allison. He felt Scott’s heart start to race, but his magic flowed in and calmed it down. Stiles felt himself relaxing in turn. He fell into a sort of meditative trance. He could still see and hear the TV, but it was like it was further away. Instead, he just fell into the calm of the spell and projected that calm into Scott. Stiles smiled slightly as he relaxed back into the chair. Crisis successfully averted. Now he just had to find Scott a "Werewolves for Dummies" guide...


	8. Isaac

Stiles woke to someone shaking him gently. He blinked hazily up at Scott. Stiles rubbed at his eyes as he struggled to sit up. He had to shake his head a little to clear away the cobwebs. When he looked around, he saw that he was in Scott’s room on the bed, but he didn’t remember falling asleep. He stretched with a yawn. Then, he noticed the echo of his own heart beat. Scott’s heart rate was calm. The spell was still holding.

“What time’s it?” Stiles asked as he looked around for his shoes, which he didn’t remember taking off at all.

“It’s already one,” Scott replied. He was fully dressed and looked like he’d probably been awake for some time. “Mom left us lunch before she went to work.”

Stiles fumbled for his phone. It was, in fact, after one in the afternoon. “Huh,” he said thoughtfully. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept that long. Not since his magic had made itself known at least. He rubbed a hand over his face and pushed himself off the bed. It took him a minute to struggle his feet into his shoes.

“You look a little rough,” Scott said. He sounded a little concerned. “I don’t mind if you go back to sleep.”

“Nah.” Stiles waved a hand at Scott as he wandered down the stairs in search of food. Food would probably help. 

He let Scott handle the food for a change, instead choosing to slump down at the table. Scott, thankfully, knew him well and set a cup of black coffee down in front of him while the food was reheating. Stiles was not ashamed of the sounds he made when he started to drink. Mrs. McCall had excellent taste in coffee. It was as an orgasmic experience, not that he had much to compare it with beyond time with his hand. 

“Dude, I still don’t understand how you drink that stuff,” Scott said with a wrinkled nose. “At least put some cream and sugar in it.”

Stiles smiled and took another sip. The caffeine was already starting to help him perk up. “Why ruin perfectly good coffee,” he replied, taking a nice long drink to emphasize his point. Scott just grimaced and turned to pull the dish out of the microwave. 

By the time they were done eating, Stiles felt alert again. He looked over at Scott critically as he poked at the magic tying them together. “How’re you feeling? No urges to turn hairy?”

Scott shook his head. “Nothing since last night,” he said. “I hadn’t really thought about it.” Scott shrugged. “I’d almost thought it was a dream, but then mom used the coffee grinder and I thought there was a drill going through my head.” He looked down at his fingers. “Almost felt the claws come out then, but that was about it.”

“Awesome.” Stiles held up a hand for a fist bump and Scott didn’t leave him hanging. “Go Team Werewolf!” He rose and took their plates over to the dishwasher. “We should probably take you to get checked out by Deaton, though,” he said. He looked over at Scott as he finished cleaning up. “He wanted me to keep him informed if you showed any side effects, and I think it’s safe to say that you have.”

Scott snorted. “Some side effect,” he muttered, but he didn’t complain as they gathered up their coats and headed out the door.

The vet’s office was still open when they got there. They waited to one side of the room while Deaton finished up with a family and their very friendly corgi. Deaton walked the family out and locked the door behind them. The vet flipped the sign to closed before he turned to them. “What can I help you boys with?”

Stiles nodded towards Scott. “I brought my dog in for a checkup,” he said, cackling at Scott’s indignant protests. Deaton looked less than impressed. “He’s developed some werewolf-y side effects to the bite,” he explained.

Deaton’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Last night was the full moon,” he said. “How did you manage?”

Scott shrugged. “Stiles did a spell that kept me from turning,” he said. If anything, Deaton looked even more surprised. He got that unfocused look that Stiles associated with him looking at magical energies.

“So he has,” Deaton said after a moment. “Stiles, how are you holding up with the energy drain?”

It was Stiles’ turn to shrug. “I apparently slept a lot, but after some coffee and food I felt better. Could probably hold it another day or two if I needed to.”

Deaton turned to look at Scott critically again. “The worst night will be the full moon, but there may be some lingering effects tonight. You shouldn’t need to maintain the spell longer than tomorrow morning.”

Stiles clapped a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Looks like you’re staying at my house tonight, bud.” 

Scott gave him a small smile, but his expression became serious as he looked at Deaton. “The spell isn’t going to harm Stiles, is it? I mean, he’s fine now, but he was pretty much dead on his feet this morning.”

Deaton shrugged. He waved for them to follow him into the back of the clinic. “The spell will drain Stiles’s strength, like any prolonged magic use would. The drain is not so great that it will cause lasting harm. In fact, it will help him in the long run.” He motioned for Scott to hop up onto one of the exam tables as he continued his explanation. “Think of magical ability like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.”

“So that’s why you’ve been working him till he’s exhausted all the time?” Scott asked. “So his magic will get stronger?”

“Essentially, yes,” Deaton said with a small smile. “There are limits to how strong one can become based on their own natural aptitude, but I think that Stiles has a long way to go before we reach those limits.”

Scott turned to beam at Stiles, clearly impressed. Stiles just rolled his eyes. “Dude, let’s focus on your supernatural problems, not mine.”

“Yes,” Deaton said, turning his attention back to Scott. “Stiles’s spell is a good temporary measure, but you’ll need to find your anchor and learn control. Usually this is something your Alpha would teach you, but I don’t think further contact with that creature is wise at this point.” The vet hesitated. “There are a few other packs in the area that would likely be willing to take you in.” Stiles opened his mouth to ask a question, but Deaton cut him off. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you who without their express permission, just like I won’t tell them who you are without your permission.”

Scott frowned. “Isn’t there some way to cure this? I have enough going on in my life without having to deal with being a werewolf.” Scott’s eyes grew wide. He turned to look at Stiles. “What if Allison finds out?” Scott’s face fell like someone kicked his puppy. “She’ll dump me,” he said with certainty.

Deaton exchanged a glance with Stiles before laying a hand reassuringly on Scott’s shoulder. “While I can’t speak to Ms. Argent’s actions,” Deaton said slowly. “I can assure you that while I have never encountered a cure for lycanthropy, there are plenty who live perfectly normal lives. Once they learn control.”

“Stiles and I seem to be managing fine so far,” Scott said, looking to Stiles for confirmation. “I don’t know if I want to get involved with a pack. I’m sure they’re perfectly nice people, but...” Scott shrugged.

Deaton regarded the two of them for another long moment. He nodded and retreated back to his office. He returned with a sheet of paper that he handed to Stiles. Stiles glanced down the list and found several book titles, many of which he’d already gotten from the library. “These will be the most informative,” Deaton said, nodding to the list. “If you have any questions, or if you change your mind about meeting with one of the packs, even just one on one with their Alphas, please let me know. In the meantime, Scott, I want you to focus on the sections about anchors. Take a day or two to think about it and we’ll discuss your thoughts on Wednesday.”

Stiles and Scott both nodded. Scott hopped down from the table. Stiles patted him on the shoulder as they turned towards the door. “Come on, dude,” Stiles said. He gave Scott a reassuring smile. “I’ve got most of these at home already. We’ll swing by your house for your stuff, camp out at my place, order a pizza, and learn about the wonderful ways of werewolves.”

**************

Stiles slung himself down into his seat for history with barely a second to spare before the bell rang. Scott shot him a worried glance before he went back to staring lovingly into Allison’s eyes, or whatever it was they were doing. Mr. Westover cleared his throat to get the attention of the class. He strode across the front of the room, passing out a handout.

“As you’ll see on the handout,” Mr. Westover said, “you’ll be doing a project in pairs for this next unit.” Excited chatter broke out across the room as people looked about to pick partners. Stiles looked to Scott, but Scott was already looking hopefully at Allison. 

“Before you get ahead of yourselves,” the teacher continued, “I’ve already assigned the pairs.” He picked up a piece of paper from his desk and began calling out names. Stiles listened closely to the names as they were called out. “Ms. Argent will be working with Mr. Lahey.” Scott pouted as Allison looked towards the back of the room where Isaac was sitting. “Ms. Billman will be with Mr. Stilinski.” Stiles turned to smile at the girl he’d been paired with, but she turned away. He rolled his eyes and slumped back in his seat again. He waited while the teacher read more names off the list. “Mr. McCall will be with Mr. Taylor.” Stiles was a little relieved that Scott got one of their few teammates who was actually doing pretty well in school. He could tell that he’d probably be doing most of the work for his own project, but he had not been looking forward to doing the work to make sure Scott’s group got a good grade too.

“You have this period to get started,” Mr. Westover stated. “Finished projects are due in exactly one week. That means by the beginning of the period next Monday, not Tuesday. Monday.” Then the teacher sat down at his desk and left them to rearrange themselves. 

“Dude, are you alright?” Scott whispered as they rose to move closer to their partners.

Stiles shrugged and stifled a yawn. “Fell asleep in study hall,” he said. He slumped down in the seat next to Trish Billman and pulled out his notebook. He glanced over the handout. “So, do you have any preference?” He turned to Trish who regarded him with a blank stare. 

“Oral or poster presentation for the paper?” he asked. 

“Don’t care,” Trish replied.

Stiles resisted the urge to sigh. “How about topic?” When she simply shrugged at him, he glanced over the handout again. He closed his eyes and picked one of the topics at random. Opening his eyes he looked down at where his finger pointed. “Demonstration methods in the Civil Rights Movement it is.” He made a mark next to the topic. He glanced over at Trish, but she’d already pulled her phone out and was typing away, probably to her boyfriend. Stiles sighed. “I’m going to go with the poster option, because I doubt you’ll actually bother preparing anything for an oral presentation.” Trish didn’t even seem to have heard him. 

Stiles slumped in his seat. For a moment he was sorely tempted to close his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep. He hadn’t even meant to fall asleep in study hall. He was just so exhausted after using magic for two days straight. It had been such a relief to let the spell go that morning, but his energy had been fading since. They really had to work on Scott’s control for the next full moon, because Stiles could not do this every month for the rest of their lives. He supposed he might get to the point where it wasn't a problem if what Deaton said about his stamina increasing was true, but he had no idea how long that was going to take. Hopefully, he and Deaton could coach Scott through finding his anchor and he wouldn't need the spell more than once or twice more. 

A throat clearing at the front of the class startled Stiles awake. He sat up suddenly and looked around the room. Scott shot him a worried look from across the room, but relaxed when Stiles’s heart slowed down to a more normal pace. Mr. Westover was giving him a pointed stare. Stiles smiled at him sheepishly as he straightened in his seat. He glanced at the clock and was relieved to find that only a few minutes had passed. He pulled out his history textbook and began to jot down notes for the paper. 

The bell rang at the end of the period and Stiles quickly shoved everything into his bag. He waited with Scott while Allison finished talking to Isaac. Stiles had to elbow Scott in the gut to stop the growl that started when Allison smiled at Isaac while saying goodbye. Scott turned to glare at him. Unfortunately for him, Stiles was not impressed. His jaw cracked on a yawn. He shook his head to clear it. 

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay driving home?” Scott asked worriedly. His worry faded into adoration as soon as Allison joined them, but she wasn’t as easily distracted.

“You do look pretty tired,” Allison said. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home?”

Stiles waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’m not making any stops, just heading straight home and up to my bed.” The group stopped at Allison’s locker while she switched out some books. “How was working with Isaac? You think you’ll be okay?”

Allison nodded. “I think we’ll be fine,” she said. She looped her arm with Scott’s as they walked and Scott looked like he was about to float away. Stiles wanted to roll his eyes. “He had some good ideas about the project,” Allison continued. “We’re going to be meeting up after school tomorrow and Thursday since Isaac doesn’t have a computer at home.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow at that. Who didn’t have a computer? He shrugged as they stepped out of the building and he spotted his Jeep. One step closer to his bed. Stiles waved goodbye to Allison and Scott as they headed for her car. He paused to shoot Scott a text to ask him to let Stiles know if he was having any furry urges, then threw his bag in the back of the Jeep and pulled out into the mess of after school traffic. 

By the time he made it home, his eyelids were drooping. He barely even registered walking from the Jeep to his room. He only remember sighing in relief as he collapsed fully clothed onto his bed. His dad must have come in at some point, because when he woke up his shoes were off and his phone was plugged in on his nightstand. Stiles couldn’t muster up the energy to change. He simply slipped off his pants and crawled under the covers.

The next morning it took him several tries to get out of bed, but once he had his coffee he was more alert. He made sure to pack an extra large travel mug full to keep him going through the morning. By the end of the day, he was more than ready to pass out again. If it weren’t for his study hall period, he didn’t think he’d have gotten any of his homework done. He shot Deaton a text to cancel their usual Tuesday session and went to bed early instead. 

By Wednesday morning, he started to feel less tired. He managed to wake up before his alarm, though he wasn’t nearly as energetic as he had gotten used to being since his magic awoke. He didn’t fall asleep at school and actually managed to get his homework done. He was well into his history project Wednesday night when his dad’s voice broke him out of his frantic typing. “Do you know Isaac Lahey? He’s in your class, isn’t he?”

Stiles blinked up from his history paper and stared at his dad. “He’s in my history class,” he said, nodding towards the paper he was writing. He thought for a second, trying to remember anything more about Isaac. “I think he’s in my Biology class. And he’s on the lacrosse team. Don’t really talk to him much, why?”

The Sheriff shifted uncomfortably as he leaned up against the door frame to Stiles’s room. “His father hasn’t seen him since Monday night. Did you happen to see him at school the last two days?”

Stiles turned in his chair to regard his dad. He didn’t really talk to Isaac that much. “He was definitely there yesterday,” he said with certainty. “Scott was pouting because Isaac got paired with Allison for the history project and she was working with him on it after school yesterday.” He spun slowly in his chair as he thought through the day. He couldn’t remember much of Biology this morning and they had a regular class in history, no more project work. He shrugged. “I don’t think he was there today, but I wouldn’t put money on it.”

Noah jotted something down in the notepad he carried in his uniform pocket. Stiles narrowed his eyes at that. This seemed like a little more than idle curiosity. “Did something happen?” he asked cautiously. He held his breath as his father seemed to decide whether or not to answer.

“Someone called in a disturbance at the cemetery where he and his father work,” Noah said eventually. “We found blood near one of the new graves.” He raised a hand as Stiles started up out of the chair. “Don’t go jumping to conclusions and for God’s sake don’t say anything about it. It could be nothing, but we’re looking into it anyways.”

Stiles sat back down abruptly. He slowly nodded, keeping his mouth closed on all the things that wanted to rush out. Now was not the time to suggest which supernatural creatures could have been lurking around the graveyard. Or at least, not unless he wanted to broach the subject of magic to his dad. His dad gave him a long look, but turned and walk back towards the stairs. “There is no such thing as zombies, Stiles,” Noah called as he started down the stairs. 

He slumped back into his chair and saved his paper. There might not be zombies, but there were ghouls, vetala, and drekavac. He pushed his history book aside and used a quick search of the police system to find out which cemetery Mr. Lahey worked at. Stiles pulled it up on Google Earth. He swore softly under his breath. It bordered on the preserve, not more than a mile away from where he and Scott had been attacked. 

*************

The news was all over school by Monday morning. It turned out that Jackson lived across the street from the Lahey’s. He told anyone who would listen how Mr. Lahey was a creeper who had finally killed his son and been arrested over the weekend. Stiles quickly turned and started walking in the opposite direction as soon as he heard Jackson open his mouth. The whole school day was like that. Scott had even noticed Stiles’s weird behavior and kept giving him odd glances as they sat together at lunch. Or at least, until Allison showed up to distract him.

It wasn’t that what Jackson said was wrong. Stiles had seen his dad’s police report. There were plenty of neighbors who were willing to admit that they’d heard Lahey yelling at night. Some of the teachers even admitted they suspected Isaac was being abused, but there’d never been any proof. And his dad and his deputies had searched the house. Stiles had had nightmares about the chest freezer all weekend. But, he couldn’t help but feel like his father was missing part of the puzzle. 

Mr. Lahey was a horrible person and should never be allowed within 100 yards of Isaac again, but there hadn’t been a body recovered. There was just Isaac’s blood in the cemetery near the woods. Mr. Lahey might be the only suspect his dad had, but Stiles was certain it had been the Alpha who had bitten Scott. He’d waited all weekend for reports of a slashed body to be found. There had been nothing. Stiles had even ignored Deaton’s warning and gone running near where Isaac had disappeared. He hadn’t found anything at all. He practically offered himself up with a ribbon, but the Alpha didn’t show a hair. But, at least he hadn’t found Isaac’s body.

Stiles glanced over at Scott. He’d been bitten by the Alpha and survived. Maybe Isaac had survived as well. His eyes unfocused as he reviewed all the things he’d read about werewolves in the past week. Had any of his books mentioned the survival rate from a werewolf bite? There had been a whole chapter about theories regarding the expression of werewolf traits in the children of bitten wolves. And the bit about bite rejection... Scott moved, drawing his attention. He looked up.

Stiles startled backwards. Scott’s aura had changed. It had been faint before, haze-like, but now it was vibrant. The brown blob had resolved into a full on wolf’s head superimposed over Scott’s. Where his eyes should be were two glowing spots of gold, the same shade as they had been when Scott shifted. His gaze swung from Scott to Allison, whose aura hadn’t changed… Allison’s aura hadn’t changed… But, Scott’s… It was so bright it might as well have been a slap in the face shouting “Werewolf!” at him. Stiles pushed his chair back and stumbled away from the table. He caught flashes of color out of the corners of his eyes, more browns and gold, hints of red and green. He moved away from the colors, not wanting to see who they belonged to just yet. 

A wave of guilt hit him as he stumbled into the hallway. He should have worked harder to find out what Scott’s aura meant. His chest grew tight with the beginnings of a panic attack. He stumbled down the hall towards the entrance to the school. Stiles rounded the corner and slammed into someone. His eyes came up, catching sight of glowing gold eyes and the aura of a wolf, darker than Scott’s but just as unmistakable.

“Watch it, Stilinski,” Cora Hale said angrily. The sound of her voice snapped him back to reality. He blinked as her face came into focus. Her glare melted away into confusion. She took a step backwards to give him space. Her nostrils widened as if she were scenting the air. Her expression softened further into concern. “Stiles, are you alright?”

His throat closed around the words that wanted to come out. Words like “How long have you been a werewolf?” and “Oh my god!” and “Holy shit, Werewolf!” fought against “No, I’m not alright” and “I should have known” and “It’s all my fault.” Instead he made what he hoped was an affirmative noise and continued on his way out of the school, out into the parking lot and into his Jeep. He shoved the key into the ignition.

He didn’t have a destination in mind when he started driving beyond just getting away. He wasn't really surprised when he ended up parked along one of the roads through Beacon Hills Cemetery. His magic was bubbling just below the surface of his skin and it reminded him of the first few days after his magic had manifested. Stiles hopped out of the Jeep and took off into the woods. He ran for what felt like hours and let the magic bleed out of him. At least now he knew why the woods always calmed his surges of magic. He understood his affinity to Earth. More than that, he thought he was starting to understand his connection to the forest, this forest, something he still didn't fully understand, but he vaguely remembered being second nature to him as a child. 

His magic calmed eventually. It settled in him like the feeling of contentedness after his first cup of coffee, warm and energizing. His pace slowed. He walked out of the woods not far from where he had entered it. Within moments he oriented himself. He recognized this part of the cemetery from his dad’s crime scene photos. 

Stiles stopped and stared at a faint red marking that had to be Isaac’s blood. The feeling of guilt came back, but it wasn't so overwhelming this time. He still couldn’t help wondering if Isaac had had the same faint wolf aura that Scott had had months ago. If he’d realized it then, could he have prevented it? Could he have kept Scott from being turned, kept Isaac from being attacked? Or, if he’d trained harder, practiced his offensive magic more, could he have taken down the Alpha before it bit Scott? Could he have protected them better if he were stronger?

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, staring at the blood stain. He blinked, looking up at the slowly darkening sky while he tried to pick out what had broken him out of his thoughts. He felt someone watching him, a familiar tingling at the edge of his senses that felt like Scott. He turned away from the woods, his mouth open to apologize for running away. His mouth clicked closed again. Of all the people to meet in the graveyard, he certainly hadn’t expected Cora Hale.


	9. Potential

“Cora?” His mouth worked for a second, not sure what to say. He looked around, but there didn’t appear to be anyone else nearby. Just him and Cora Hale. 

Cora stared at him. Her expression was intense and unreadable. He met her gaze, but couldn’t help remembering the flash of gold that he’d seen in her aura. He knew with certainty that she was a werewolf, like Scott. But, had she been bitten by the Alpha or was she a part of one of the packs that Deaton had mentioned? He shifted uncomfortably. When he was a kid, he would have trusted Cora, any of the Hales, implicitly, for no other reason than that his mom trusted them. But now...

“Is this where Isaac disappeared?” she asked after the long silence.

Stiles turned back to the blood stained tombstone and nodded. He took a deep breath and let his magic calm his heart, soothe his nerves. He and Scott hadn’t fully explored his new werewolf-y abilities, but he knew that they enhanced Scott’s senses of smell and hearing. He had a feeling that Cora was much more experienced at being a werewolf than Scott was. There was something in her bearing, in her aura, that was more controlled. He wondered what she could pick up about him with those senses.

“Is it true,” she asked, “what they said about his dad?”

Stiles nodded again. “I saw my dad’s police report,” he said. He couldn't help the small shudder that ran through his body whenever he thought about the pictures of the freezer.

“Did you know him well?” Cora moved forward until she was standing next to him. She looked concerned.

He shrugged. “Not well enough.”

Cora raised an eyebrow at him, a very judgmental eyebrow. “Then why are you out here angsting?” 

He turned to look at her. “Because I should have known,” he told her honestly. He bit his lip before he started spewing information about auras and responsibility. “If any of us had spent five minutes getting to know him, maybe this wouldn't have happened,” he said instead and it was just as true. “He was with a whole team of guys three times a week and none of us paid attention to his bruises. No one noticed. Or, if they did, no one did anything about it.” He sighed as the energy ran out of him at that admission. 

Stiles looked up at the sky. It was getting dark. He should head home. He turned away from the bloodstained tombstone and started to walk back towards his Jeep. He looked over his shoulder at Cora. “Do you need a ride home?”

She met his gaze with a grin that mocked him. “I’ll manage.”

Stiles shook his head as he climbed in the Jeep and only barely managed to bite back the exasperated “werewolves” that was on the tip of his tongue. He thought for a minute how much simpler his life had been before werewolves, but then he remembered his own magical drama. At least there’d been less violence then, just him thinking he was going insane...

He wasn’t surprised to find Scott waiting on his porch when he got home. The ease that he’d found in the woods evaporated under a wave of guilt. Stiles contemplated just getting back in the Jeep and driving away, but Scott had already seen him. Stiles walked up to his own front door like he was facing an execution. Scott, for his part, only looked concerned.

“Dude, what happened?” Scott asked as Stiles unlocked the door and let them into the house. “You just ran off at lunch. I tried to call you, but you left your phone on the table.” Scott followed him inside the house and toed off his shoes. “You’re lucky I know the combination to your locker,” he said, handing over Stiles’s bookbag.

Stiles accepted the bag and his phone with a nod. He was really glad that his father wasn’t home. This was not a conversation he wanted to try to explain. This wasn’t even really a conversation he wanted to have. He started towards the stairs with a little spark of hope that maybe if he just ignored the situation, Scott would drop it. 

Scott grabbed his arm before he could make it to the first step. He pulled until Stiles turned to face him. “Dude, what is going on?” Scott continued when Stiles hesitated. “Come on, talk to me.” Scott turned his puppy dog eyes on Stiles and he felt his will crumbling.

Stiles shrugged off Scott’s hand. He paced away from the stairs, out into the open area of the living room where he could move. He turned to look at Scott. “I saw your aura,” he said. The words felt like they were pulled out of him. 

Scott shrugged. “So, you’ve seen my aura before. Kinda hazy brown and gold, right?”

“Not anymore,” Stiles said. He started pacing again. “It’s a wolf, a brown wolf with gold eyes.”

“Oh,” Scott said. “Wolf aura equals werewolf. That makes sense…” He trailed off with a thought and Stiles braced himself for Scott to make the connection. “Does that mean Allison is going to become a queen since hers is a crown?”

Stiles stared at Scott disbelievingly. He felt his frustration building until it boiled over. “Dude, you don’t realize what this means!” Stiles threw up his arms as he paced around the room. “I’m freaking out about this and you don’t even get it!”

Scott held up his hand in a placating manner. He moved cautiously into the room before sitting down on the couch out of reach of Stiles’s flailing. “Okay, so you figured out my aura meant I’m a werewolf.” Scott flexed a claw at him. “Not really a surprise to anyone.”

Stiles whirled on Scott. “Yes, but it’s the same aura that I saw on you at the beginning of the school year! It was faint then, but the colors and the shape are the same, only now I can tell that the brown is a wolf’s head, and…” Stiles collapsed into a chair. “And I saw it… Months ago…” He stopped short as his breath caught in his throat. “I could have prevented it.” And, wow, he was getting tired of these waves of guilt. Stiles slowly looked up, forcing himself to meet Scott’s gaze. “I knew you were going to become a werewolf and I could have prevented it.”

It seemed like ages that they stared at each other. Scott flickered through emotions, first looking surprised, then confused, then amazed and possibly a little bit angry before his expression finally settled into that earnest look he got when he was about to say something so very Scott-like. “You didn’t know, though,” he said finally. Scott continued on before Stiles could interrupt him. “Yes, you saw the aura, but you didn’t know what it meant. Not even Deaton knew what it meant.” Scott shrugged and then flopped back against the couch. “Would my life be less complicated if I hadn’t been bit? Sure. But, I don’t blame you for it, Stiles. If anything, you saved me from being dragged off into the woods.”

“But you wouldn’t have been out in the woods if it hadn’t been for me,” he pointed out.

Scott nodded. “Maybe,” he said slowly. “But you would have been.” Scott paused for a second as if letting that thought settle in. “Besides,” he continued, “if I’ve had the aura for months, doesn’t that kind of mean that me becoming a werewolf was fate? Like, even if the Alpha hadn’t bitten me that day, it was going to happen another way?”

Stiles looked up at Scott. He had to admit that Scott was right, even if he did still have a little bit of guilt lingering. He wasn’t sure if he was willing to accept some nebulous concept like fate being involved. Stiles sprang to his feet again. “So, now I know what the werewolf aura looks like,” he said thoughtfully. He paused for a minute, trying to consider whether or not to tell Scott about Cora. He chewed on his thumb nail and paced while he thought. “Someone else has it,” he said finally. “Cora Hale is a werewolf too.”

“Dude!” Scott sat up straight and stared at him. “Really?” He slumped back against the couch. “Do you think she was bit by the same Alpha?”

Stiles paused as he thought about it. He let his eyes unfocus as he looked at Scott’s aura again and tried to mentally compare it to what he remembered of Cora’s. “Maybe,” he said slowly. He shook his head and changed his mind. “No. I don’t think so.” His hand reached out to brush against the Scott’s aura where the wolf’s chest would be. He had an overwhelming feeling of Scott’s curiosity, but also a feeling of emptiness. “There was a symbol around here,” he said softly. “She felt… connected…” He shrugged and let his vision return to normal. 

“So…” Scott said hesitantly. “One of the other packs that Deaton mentioned?”

Stiles shrugged. “I wish I’d gotten a look at Isaac’s aura,” he admitted softly. He bit at his nail as he thought. He would have remembered if he’d glanced another aura like Scott’s, wouldn’t he? 

Scott jerked back, surprised. “Isaac? I thought they were saying at school that his dad…” He swallowed audibly. Scott always did sympathize with people with shitty fathers.

Stiles paced towards the stairs again. He snagged his bag and motioned for Scott to follow him upstairs. “I don’t think so,” he admitted as he opened the door to his room. He dropped his bag by his desk and strode over to the map he’d pinned up. “Isaac disappeared here.” He pointed to a red pin in the cemetery. “And you were bit here.” He pointed to a second red pin not too far away from the other. “They didn’t find his body, just a bit of blood, like the Alpha had bit him and then dragged him off.”

Scott came over to stand next to him. His eyes grew wide as he looked over the map and all the pins that were in the map. They were practically a straight line into Beacon Hills. “What’s all this?” he asked. 

Stiles reached over to his desk and fished out the folders where he’d accumulated all the police reports. “These are all the red pins, which I think are definitely the work of the Alpha,” he said as he handed Scott one of the folders. “These are all the animal attacks and disappearances that I think might be him. They’re the white pins.” He handed Scott the second folder. 

Scott grimaced as he flipped through and saw some of the police photos that Stiles had gotten ahold of and included. He handed back both of the folders quickly. “Dude,” he said with a shake of his head. Scott turned to the map again. 

Stiles set the folders down on his desk again. He traced a finger down the line. “So, if we assume all of these are the work of the Alpha, then either we’re another dot on his path or we’re the destination.”

Scott stood beside him staring at the map. “If we were just on his path, wouldn’t he have just moved on after he bit me? I mean, why stick around and take Isaac?”

Stiles turned and started to pace. He needed to move, but he couldn’t justify going for another run right now. He paced a U-shape around his bed to make the most of the floor space. “He must need a larger pack for something,” he said. He waved a hand in the general direction of the map. “We have to assume that some of those missing people were turned. I mean, most of the ones that were bit ended up dead and were discovered. I’m guessing either they resisted him or they failed to turn. He doesn’t seem to have a very good success rate, so maybe another twenty five percent of the ones still missing are dead but the bodies just haven’t been found yet. I mean he was sticking to the forests and preserves, so some of them could be hidden pretty well.” Stiles ran both hands through his hair in a futile effort to get his thoughts to stop spinning. 

“So, he wants a pack and hasn’t been very successful so far. Does that mean he needs me?” Scott asked. He’d settled into a spot on the bed, out of the way of Stiles’s pacing and flailing arms. 

Stiles stopped in his tracks and considered that for a moment. “Maybe,” he answered with a shrug. “If he was going to try to recruit you or something, he would have tried something by now. But, he hasn’t. He hasn’t even tried to approach you to see if you’ve turned as far as I can tell. Instead, he took Isaac.” Stiles moved over to the posterboard where he’d started to record everything they knew about the Alpha. He tapped Isaac’s name. “But was it just because Isaac was alone that night or was there another reason? What do you and Isaac have in common?” He turned to look at Scott expectantly.

“Ummm…” Scott blinked at him, entirely unprepared for the shift the conversation had taken. He seemed to think for a minute. “We’re both on the lacrosse team, though I’m first line now and Isaac’s not. We have Biology and History together, I think?”

“You’re the same age,” Stiles points out. “Same general build, though neither of those seemed to matter before.” He turned to the list of previous victims. “The only thing the rest of these had in common was that they were all male…”

“So, the alpha’s sexist?” Scott asked. “Or are female werewolves not a thing?”

Stiles shot him a dry look. “Yes, there are female werewolves. Cora is a female werewolf. Besides, where do you think werewolf babies come from?”

Scott rolled his eyes at him. “I can’t say I really thought about it.”

He waved a hand to dismiss the thought. “Anyways, two attacks aren’t enough of a pattern to know if the Alpha is staying or going.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Unfortunately there's no way to know until someone else is attacked.” He slumped down in his chair. Stiles rubbed his eyes as he tried to force his brain work harder. “But that means more people are going to be attacked, more potential werewolves…” Stiles shot up from his chair as the idea hit him. He turned to Scott, who just stared at him in surprise. “If we can find more potential werewolves, more people who have the faint aura, then we know that the Alpha is sticking around.”

Scott raised an eyebrow at him. He seemed to consider the idea for a moment before nodding slowly. “So, you’re going to check the auras of everyone in town?” he asked skeptically. 

Stiles shook his head. He turned to look at the map. “You and Isaac are both the same age, so assuming that wasn’t just because of random coincidence, we can guess that the next target will be someone in the school. So, I just need to get a look at everyone’s auras.” Stiles gnawed on a fingernail for a moment while he thought. “I can get a large sampling if I hang around when everyone’s arriving or leaving school, plus I can check at lunch...”

“And if it’s not someone at our school?” Scott asked. “What if they go to Devenford Prep or the other high school? What if he goes after an adult next?”

Stiles slumped down on his bed and ran a hand over his face. “At least we’ll have ruled out one section of the town,” he pointed out. “Maybe I can camp out at the mall over the weekend and take a look there.”

Scott sat down on the bed beside Stiles and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll do whatever I can to help,” Scott offered. Stiles looked up at his friend and had to smile at the truly earnest look on his face. Scott shoved him lightly with his shoulder. “Now, how about you help me with my Chemistry?” Stiles felt his smile settle a little more on his face. He led Scott down to the kitchen table where they could spread out. They could at least pretend things were normal for one night.

*****************

The next morning found Scott and Stiles among the first to arrive at school. They parked themselves at one of the outdoor tables despite the slight chill in the air. Stiles positioned himself so that he could easily watch everyone walking into the building. Scott sat to his right, his homework spread out in front of him, but in a position that he could easily turn to look at the doors if needed.

At first it was easy to check. He could let his eyes unfocus as someone passed, then relax his vision when they were gone. None of the earliest arrivals had any sort of aura. Then, the buses started to arrive and with them waves of cars. Stiles had to keep his eyes unfocused for long stretches of time. He felt a headache start to grow, but forced himself to keep his eyes on the crowd. He caught a knot of brown in the crowd and startled in surprise. When he blinked his vision back to normal, he found himself staring at the Hales. He let his eyes unfocus again as he followed them into the building. He wrote down Cora and Albert’s names in his notebook. Both of them had the auras of werewolves, though oddly Veronica Hale did not. 

Each time he caught a glimpse of an aura he wrote the person’s name and as much of the aura as he could describe without really thinking about it. It felt like he went into a bit of a trance, barely even shifting between his aura sight and regular sight before his hand started to move. He startled when the first warning bell rang. Scott shot him a curious look, but didn’t say anything as they scrambled to gather up their things and run inside. They slid into their desks in Economics just in time. Stiles waited until Finstock was off on a tangent before pulling out his notebook. He had to bite his lip to keep from making a surprised noise at the list. 

There was a full page of names and notes. Stiles didn’t even remember writing down most of these names. He remembered the two Hales at the top of his list, which was a fascinating thought all on its own, but the rest… Stiles cast a quick glance over at Scott, but he was focused on whatever Coach was saying at the front of the room. Stiles looked back down at the list. He wasn’t even sure what most of these meant.

Mr. Westover apparently had a pale grey aura over him. Sean Walcott had a very sickly yellow-green aura with red around his mouth. Matt Daehler’s aura flickered between grey and blood red. There was a senior boy who had the aura of angel wings. Another senior girl seemed to look entirely different in her aura, with hair like gold, pointed ears, and the impression of flowing robes. Her name was somehow gibberish in his notes and he remembered her staring directly at him. There was a boy in the grade below him with a very faint aura like Deaton’s, another boy with a bright fiery red aura in ninth grade, and a ninth grade girl with a faint, flickering aura that sparked like his magic. While all were interesting auras, he put them on the back burner to worry about later.

There were three people who had the faint wolf aura. Erica Reyes and Vernon Boyd had auras exactly like he remembered Scott’s to have been before he was bitten. He circled their names. Jackson’s aura flickered between the faint wolf and a faint green aura with the impression of scales along his face and a tail. And that was a weird image to recall. Stiles suppressed a shudder at the thought. 

“Stilinksi!” 

Stiles jumped as Finstock’s voice broke into his thoughts. He had to scramble to keep his book and notebooks from sliding off the desk. He stared up at Coach once he had everything secured. The man did not look impressed. He gave Stiles a look that meant that there were laps in his future before turning back to continue to address the class. Stiles quickly tucked his other notebook away and forced himself to pay attention for the rest of class.

As soon as the bell rang, he shoved his things in his bags and hauled Scott out of the room. He looked around quickly before dragging Scott into the boy’s restroom. Stiles released Scott to quickly check the stalls. Once he was sure they were alone he turned to his friend. “Erica and Boyd are going to be attacked,” he said with certainty. “Maybe Jackson too, but his aura was different.” Stiles let out the shiver that he’d been holding back. He shook his head to clear it. “Definitely Erica and Boyd though.”

Scott’s eyes widened in surprise. Before he could say anything, a freshman came into the restroom. Stiles shook his head and headed back out into the hallway. Scott trailed after him as they walked to their lockers. “What do we do about it?” Scott asked in a whisper.

Stiles shrugged. Knowing who was going to be potential targets didn’t help him figure out when the Alpha was going to attack, or where, or even which of the two was going to be next. He thumped his head against his locker in frustration. “Watch and wait,” he said after a moment. Scott looked just as displeased by the idea as Stiles was. “And I’ll keep trying to figure out who the Alpha is and why he’s here.” 

The bell rang and they were forced to go off to their separate classes. Luckily, Boyd was in his second period Math class so Stiles could take the opportunity to study him. Unfortunately, Cora was there too. She seemed to sense something was up because she kept shooting him odd glances. Stiles felt his shoulders hunch every time he felt her staring, but he tried to put it out of his mind. He kept one eye on Boyd and one on the teacher as he considered the problem of the Hales. Deaton had mentioned two other packs in the area and with two out of three Hales as werewolves, he was starting to think that they were part of one of the packs. But, that didn’t explain why Veronica wasn’t a werewolf. And, if they were part of a pack, did that pack know about the Alpha who bit Scott? It was entirely possible that the pack was working with the Alpha, maybe having Cora and Albert try to find who the Alpha had bitten… Stiles rubbed at his forehead. He hated all this uncertainty.

By the end of Math, he decided that he would just have to keep an eye on Cora in addition to Erica and Boyd. Both Cora and Erica were both in his fourth period Spanish class and Erica had Biology with him and Scott fifth period. They all had lunch together, but Erica and Boyd sat in opposite sections of the cafeteria, which made it hard to keep an eye on them. Between him and Scott, they managed to keep track of Erica and Boyd for the entire school day. After school was another problem. It looked like Erica and Boyd both took their buses straight home, but Stiles had no way of being sure they wouldn’t leave their houses afterwards. If the Alpha was going to go after one of them, after school would be the perfect time. Stiles was tempted to skip lacrosse practice to keep at least one of them under surveillance, but Scott was adamant that he stay.

The next day he watched Erica and Boyd without actually interacting with them, all while dodging Cora. That night he parked his Jeep a few houses down from Erica’s house, but she never came back out after going inside. The following night, he did the same at Boyd’s, but Boyd seemed to be the default babysitter for his many siblings, so he didn’t leave the house either.

Stiles’s life developed a new pattern. He went to school. He watched Erica, Boyd, and Cora. After school he either had lacrosse practice or his lessons with Deaton. Two evenings a week, he practiced controlling the shift with Scott, one with Deaton’s help and one on his own. Any other free time he spent on researching like a maniac. He went back over every evidence log and case file from the Alpha attacks in case he missed something. He searched the town records for new arrivals to town, but the only one who stood out was Mr. Argent. Stiles considered that possibility for a whole hour before he ruled it out. The Argents had moved to town weeks before the Alpha had come. It was interesting that they had to have followed the same route into town, but there were only so many roads from San Francisco to Beacon Hills. He dismissed the Argents, but was left with only dead ends. Stiles felt his frustration mounting with each day because he knew that the Alpha was going to strike again soon and he couldn’t help feeling like there was more he should be doing. 

A week and a half passed with no sign of the Alpha. Stiles kept checking Erica and Boyd’s auras, just in case he missed something, but they stayed the same. He was tempted to think that the Alpha had moved on, but there were no new reports of animal attacks anywhere in the county. He’d even set up an alert so that he’d know the instant one was mentioned in the media or entered into the police system. He couldn’t figure out what the Alpha was waiting for. 

Without anything else to go on, Stiles continued to stick close to Erica and Boyd while keeping away from Cora. In gym, he managed to drift near Erica while they watched pairs of classmates do the climbing wall. By the time Allison and Scott were doing the wall, he had managed to work his way next to her as they waited. Erica gave him a wary glance, but didn’t say anything about it. Stiles kept watch on Erica out of the corner of his eye as he watched Scott climb. He and Scott had had a long conversation about why it might be a good idea to appear normal and not show off his new werewolf-y strength. Scott looked like he had actually listened. He climbed the wall at a normal pace, even letting Allison get ahead of him. 

Then, Scott had to open his mouth. “Waiting for me to catch up?” he asked when Allison paused on the wall above him.

Allison smiled down at him. “I was waiting for you,” she said sweetly. “You looked like you were struggling.”

“Maybe I was admiring the view.” 

Stiles had to resist gagging at the cheesy line, but it seemed to amuse Allison. “Try admiring from afar,” she said as she put on a burst of speed. Which of course meant that Scott disregarded all common sense and used his werewolf strength to gain ground. And then he stopped and waited for Allison to catch up. The idiot actually smirked at her. Stiles didn’t have to be psychic to predict Allison’s next move. He snorted when Allison kicked at Scott’s foot. Scott came plummeting down to the ground, stopped short by the safety rope. Stiles couldn’t help laughing with the rest of the class as the rope released and Scott fell the last few inches to the floor. 

Finstock sat down on the mat next to Scott’s prone form. “McCall, I don’t know why, but your pain gives me a special kind of joy,” he said with a chuckle. “Right?” Finstock patted Scott on the shoulder once before bouncing to his feet. “Alright, next two.” Finstock looked around the gathered crowd. “Stilinski, Erica, let’s go.” Stiles looked over at Erica with a smile that Erica didn’t seem to even notice. “The wall,” Finstock said with a wave of his arm.

Stiles dashed over to the wall. He was more than ready to get this over with, plus he had hadn’t been able to go running in weeks and needed to move and burn off some of the energy. Stiles powered up the wall with a burst of speed that probably rivaled even Scott. The climb was easy after weeks of running and training for lacrosse. He was up and down before he even noticed Erica wasn’t with him. He looked up in alarm when Erica started making panicked noises. He heard a soft “Oh, please” from her as she started to hyperventilated. Stiles flinched at the sound. He recognized the beginnings of a panic attack when he heard one. Before he knew what was happening the rest rest of the class had gathered at the bottom of the wall. Coach Finstock pushed through them to stand next to Stiles.

“Erica,” Finstock called out. “Dizzy? Is it Vertigo?”

He could practically hear Lydia roll her eyes. “Vertigo is a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear,” Lydia said with her arms crossed. “She’s just freaking out.” While Lydia’s diagnosis was accurate, it didn’t do much to get Erica down from the wall.

Stiles quickly thought over his options. He couldn’t use his magic with so many people around. They were going to have to try to get Erica to come down the mundane way. He pulled Scott over to stand directly under Erica before scaling up the wall. In no time at all he was even with Erica. “Hi, Erica,” he said simply. 

Erica turned slowly to look at him. Her eyes were wide, but they focused on him. She bit her lip as a tremor wracked through her. “Fff… I’m fine,” Erica managed to say, but she didn’t seem to be able to move yet.

Stiles nodded. “Yup,” he agreed with a smile. “I’m just going to hang out with you up here though.” He leaned in close. “It’s kinda like being Spiderman, don’t you think?” That seemed to startle a giggle out of Erica. Some of the tension in her body relaxed, but her knuckles were still white where they gripped the handholds. 

“Coach, maybe it’s not safe,” Allison pointed out from somewhere below. “You know she’s epileptic.” Stiles glanced down to see that she was standing right next to Scott. 

Finstock did not seem to know that. He stared at Allison for a moment before looking back up at Erica worriedly. “Why doesn’t anybody tell me this stuff?” Finstock muttered. He shuffled forward a little bit more. “Erica, you… you’re fine. Just kick off from the wall.” Finstock waved his hands as if Erica could actually see him. “There’s a mat to catch you,” Finstock called out. Erica did not seem to like that idea. Her body tensed as she clung closer to the wall. 

Stiles inched over until he was right next to Erica. “I’m going to put my arm around your waist,” he said in his calmest voice. He waited until Erica gave a barely there nod before he leaned his weight to the left. His arm slid around Erica’s waist. He pulled her close until they were pressed side to side. “I’ve got you.” He kept his voice soft, barely more than a whisper. “And Scott’s right below us,” he pointed out. “He may look scrawny, but he’s actually pretty strong. Plus there’s Allison. She’s like Wonder Woman level strong.” 

Erica let out another surprised laugh that Stiles pretended also didn’t sound like a barely disguised sob. He tightened his grip around her waist. Stiles shifted even closer. He ducked under Erica’s right arm and then raised up so that her arm was around his shoulder. Erica let go of the wall with her right hand and let Stiles support most of her weight. “There we go,” he murmured. He shifted his footing down a step and Erica moved with him. He waited while she adjusted her left hand to grip a lower handhold then moved down another step. Slowly, they made their way down the wall until he felt Scott’s hands come up to steady them. Erica startled, her body going tense. “That’s just Scott,” Stiles said reassuringly. “He’s got you. You can let go.”

For a moment Erica hesitated. Then, she took a deep breath. He felt Erica’s weight shift, then she was sliding back into Scott’s hold and being lowered to the ground. Stiles hopped off the wall and landed beside them. 

“See,” Finstock said reassuringly as he clapped Erica on the shoulder. “You’re fine. Let’s go. Shake it off. You’re fine.”

Around them their classmates snickered as Erica continued to shake from the panic. Stiles cringed because he knew exactly what that felt like. Erica’s face went pale, whether from the lingering panic or from embarrassment, Stiles wasn’t sure. “Maybe she should go to the nurse?” he suggested. Erica looked up at him in surprise.

Before Stiles could say anything more, Allison seemed to rally at the suggestion. She rushed forward to slip her arm into Erica’s. “I’ll take her,” she called to Coach over her shoulder. Allison glared at a group of snickering girls until they shut up. A path quickly cleared for Allison and Erica. Stiles started to follow after them, but was stopped short by a hand on his shoulder. “Hold it, Stilinski,” Coach said as he pulled Stiles backwards and shoved him towards the milling class. Coach turned back to the rest of the class. “Alright, everyone, show’s over,” called out to the group. “Next pair up to the wall.”

Stiles glanced over his shoulder but Allison and Erica had already slipped out into the hallway. He exchanged a worried glance with Scott, but there wasn't anything they could do until class ended. He lingered near the nurse’s office after gym, but neither Erica nor Allison came out before the bell for the next class rang. Erica didn’t show up for Spanish class the next period, nor was she in Biology. He relaxed a little when he saw Allison come in to Biology, Scott trailing behind her like a puppy. 

“How's Erica?” He asked as soon as Allison sat down.

Allison gave him a small smile. “She was alright when I left her,” she said. “Erica said she was going to have her parents come pick her up if she doesn't feel better, so I'm assuming she'll be going home soon.”

A moment later the teacher strode into the room and started class, cutting off any further conversation. Stiles made a beeline for the nurse’s office after class was over, but no one was there. He looked around the empty room in surprise. Stiles turned to go, but startled back when he almost ran into the nurse. 

“Can I help you?” the nurse asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Stiles pasted on his most charming smile. “I was just looking for Erica,” he said. He waved a hand at the now empty cots further in the room. 

The nurse considered him for a long moment. “She went home.” Stiles sagged a little. On the one hand, he would have preferred to see Erica for himself to verify that she was alright, but at the same time home was probably the safest place that she could be. He gave the nurse another smile before backing out of the room and making his way to lunch. He still had Boyd to keep an eye on. Plus, the full moon was coming up and he had that to plan for. It was going to hit in the middle of next week, so he couldn’t even hole up with Scott at one of their houses. 

He didn’t think too much of it when Erica didn’t show up to school the next day. She usually missed at least a day or two after she had a seizure. Plus, it was Friday, so it made sense for her to take a long weekend to recover. He tried to push his worry out of his mind through his morning classes, though his eyes did occasionally drift over to Erica’s empty seat. Then, he stopped short when he spotted his dad talking to the principal in the hallway outside the office. Stiles turned away from where he’d been following Scott and Allison to lunch. His father looked up at Stiles as he approached. He held up a hand before Stiles came too close. 

Stiles lingered a few feet away and shamelessly listened in. “I’ll need interviews with all of the teachers,” Noah said. He nodded towards the office. “There are no security cameras, correct?”

The principal nodded. “We’ve discussed installing them at a few of the PTA meetings, but the parents have always been against it.” The principal grimaced. “I think we might be able to talk them into it now.” Someone called from the office and the principal turned. “Just one moment, Sheriff.”

The principal disappeared into the office. Noah spoke to the deputy with him for one second before coming over to Stiles. Stiles looked between his father and the office. “What’s going on?” he asked as he tried to keep a feeling of dread from filling him.

“Erica Reyes is missing.”


	10. Allegations and Allison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed some changes with the tags and rating of the fic. I bumped down the rating because this arc turned out to be pre-slash. There will definitely be explicit sex in the story, but it got pushed back in the outline and won't be until a later arc. I apologize to anyone who's reading this for the sex. Slow burn is slooow and plot happened. So, yeah, rating got bumped down. If anyone feels like the level of violence in the chapters so far (or the upcoming chapters) rates a mature rating, please let me know and I'll adjust that.
> 
> You probably also noticed that there is a finite chapter count now. I don't write in order, at all, so I've got the last three chapters about 80% finished already and I'm just working on catching the plot up to where it needs to be. This chapter and the next one might be a bit rushed because of all the plot that I need to shove in before things can be resolved. 
> 
> Also, fair warning, I'm finishing up my doctoral dissertation and then I have one or two oneshots that are mostly finished, so updates will continue to be sporadic for the next month or two. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments and I'll do my best to answer without giving out spoilers.

Over the weekend, Stiles pestered his dad for information about Erica. He learned that all of the teachers and staff at the school had been interviewed. Noone remember seeing Erica leave the school with anyone, but her parents reported that they’d never been called to pick her up nor had she come home that night. The nurse had apparently just assumed that Erica’s parents had picked her up when she was gone fifth period. Apparently Allison had been the last person to see her. 

His dad wouldn’t tell Stiles about his interview with Allison, but Stiles heard all about it from Scott, who had had to comfort a worried Allison. In between Scott’s romantic babble about how kind-hearted Allison was Stiles was able to determine that Erica disappeared sometime while they’d been in Biology when the nurse had been called away to check on some idiot who tripped, fell down the stairs, and twisted their ankle. Stiles suspected it was Greenburg.

Saturday morning his dad organized a search party to go through the woods near the school in case Erica had become disoriented and wandered off. He called in all the deputies and took volunteers from the community. Stiles volunteered because he knew that there was an Alpha werewolf somewhere in those woods and didn’t want his dad anywhere near it without him. Allison volunteered because she was worried about Erica and felt guilty for leaving her alone to go to Biology. Scott volunteered because of Allison.

Stiles managed to arrange their positions in the search line so that he could keep an eye on his dad, Scott, and Allison at the same time. A little further down he spotted Erica’s parents. Her mom looked frantic with worry. The search party slowly progressed through the woods. Every so often they called Erica’s name, but if she actually was disoriented none of them expected her to be in a condition to call back. There was a group of EMTs following behind them in case they did find her. They searched through the woods for hours until the daylight started to fade and they were forced to turn back. Meanwhile, several deputies canvassed the neighborhoods around the school to see if she had wandered that way. There was no sign of Erica.

Just like with Isaac the school was abuzz with rumors Monday morning. The rumors started out normal enough. Anyone who was near the school on Saturday knew about the search party. Stiles, Scott, and Allison weren’t the only kids from their school to volunteer. He was pretty sure he saw some of the Hales, though they had been much further down the line. Coach had cancelled the track team’s practice to recruit them into searching too. So, the early rumors were about where Erica might have wandered off to if she wasn’t in the woods. People searched every nook and cranny in the school, just to disprove each other’s theories. Finally, consensus seemed to be that if she wasn’t in the school or the woods, she must not have actually wandered off.

By the end of Monday, the rumors started to get weird. Sure, some people just assumed she had had enough of being made fun of by her classmates and ran away, but the other ones... Stiles had to stop in his tracks and actually try to figure out how people came up with this crap. Someone suggested Erica had been kidnapped for medical experiments. That led to someone suggesting that her parents had shipped her off for an illegal experimental treatment and it had gone horribly wrong. Results ranged from horrific scarring to brain damage. Alien abduction was mentioned in there somewhere. Then someone suggested that she’d had a seizure and died and her parents were covering it up. 

Once the rumor mill got the idea into their collective heads that Erica was dead, the rumors became more and more outlandish. People started suggesting that her body was hidden somewhere in school, despite the fact that the school had already been thoroughly checked by the police and the nosiest of the student body. Each new rumor about what might have been done with Erica’s dead body made him both queasy and angry. Anything from being buried under the bleachers to being ground up in the meatloaf was apparently viable. By the end of the day, Stiles couldn’t wait to get out of school and away from the idiots there. Not only was he irritated by the completely callous way that his classmates were talking about Erica, but he also couldn’t shake the certainty that the Alpha had somehow gotten Erica despite him and Scott vowing to watch out for her. He wasn’t sure how and he wasn’t sure why, but that seemed like the only logical answer. 

Things got worse on Tuesday. Somehow someone had found out that Stiles’s dad had talked to Allison about Erica’s disappearance. First, they tried to get information out of Stiles, as if he’d ever tell anyone other than Scott about an ongoing police investigation. Stiles’s lack of cooperation didn’t stop the rumors though. Midway through Tuesday someone connected the fact that Allison had been history partners with Isaac, who also was mysteriously missing. 

The new rumors started out as whispers. “No, she wouldn’t have.” “It’s not possible.” “Not sweet, kind Allison,” they all said. But then came “What do we really know about her?”, “Nothing like this happened before she came here.” And, his personal favorite, “It’s always the quiet ones.”

Stiles could tell that the whispers were getting to Allison, and by extension Scott. No one said anything to her directly, but if he could hear them, so could Allison. By the end of the school day, Allison seemed to draw into herself as people watched her. Scott, on the other hand, seemed ready to lash out at anyone who even looked at Allison funny. 

The rumors only grew more involved overnight. By Wednesday morning people actively cleared the hallways whenever Allison walked by. If she went into the girls’ restroom it would suddenly empty. And everywhere she went, the whispers followed. 

Stiles hastily pulled Scott into the boys’ restroom in between third period. Scott’s eyes flashed gold with his irritation, but he let Stiles drag him along. Thankfully the restroom was empty. Stiles grabbed Scott’s head in both his hands and redid the spell that linked them. He hadn’t planned on doing the spell until after school, but Scott definitely needed it considering how fast his heart was pumping. Scott relaxed almost instantly as the spell settled and Stiles’s calm washed over him. Scott gave him a sheepish look as soon as he realized what had almost happened.

“Dude, it’s fine. I know you’ve been working on your control,” Stiles reassured. “The full moon is tomorrow and you’re stressed about Allison. It’s okay.” 

Scott looked at Stiles critically. “The spell really wiped you out last time,” he pointed out. “Are you going to be okay keeping it going for three days?”

Stiles waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine.” He pulled out his phone as the bell rang and cursed. Stiles dragged Scott back out of the restroom so they could get to gym. “I’ll text Deaton to cancel lessons for this week,” he said as they walked. “That should help.” Scott didn’t look convinced, but thankfully dropped the subject.

Gym was another round of paired exercises, so Stiles only had to worry about calming Scott’s heart rate for a short period of time. Scott was calm all through their fourth period classes and Biology. Stiles started to relax. He was feeling pretty confident in Scott’s control by the time lunch came around. Stiles smiled at Allison as she joined them at their lunch table. 

Then, everyone else at the table got up and left. Not just the people sitting next to them, but everyone at the other end of the table too. Stiles blinked at the now empty stretch of table in surprise. He felt a wave of fury come from Scott and Stiles quickly stomped that down through their bond without even looking at his friend. Instead, Stiles watched Allison. The muscles around her jaw tightened, but she didn’t even frown. Allison let out a slow breath as she settled into her seat. She forced a smile on her face as she looked up at Scott. “It’s fine,” she said softly. “They’ll forget about it in a day or two.”

“Of course they will,” Lydia said as she plopped her tray down next to Allison. All three of them turned to look at Lydia in surprise. The surprise grew as Jackson slid into place next to Lydia and Danny sat down in the seat across from him. Lydia looked up from where she was arranging things on her tray. She looked from Scott to Stiles to Allison, taking in their surprised stares. “What?”

Stiles blinked at Lydia in surprise. When Allison started dating Scott and moved from sitting with Lydia’s group to sitting with Scott and Stiles, Lydia hadn’t made any effort to socialize with them. Sure, Lydia and Allison were friends and sometimes they did awkward double dates together, but that had never translated into the politics of lunch tables. Yet, here she was when no one else apparently wanted to sit with them, voluntarily lowering her perceived social status for Allison.

Lydia glanced over at Allison. “You were with us in Biology when Erica disappeared,” Lydia pointed out evenly. “There’s a whole classroom of people who can verify that, if they’d just use their brains.” Lydia tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder. “The gossip is truly ridiculous.” 

Danny snorted. He gave Allison a small smile. “Lydia is right,” he said, “as always.” He grinned at the huff Lydia let out and the tension at the table was broken. Danny, Jackson, and Scott started to talk strategy for the upcoming lacrosse game and it was like they’d always had lunch together. Stiles found himself falling a little bit more in love with Lydia. And Danny. But not Jackson. Danny he could admire for making the conscious decision to support Allison. Jackson was just following his dick. 

Lydia’s presence didn’t outright quash the rumors going around about Allison, but someone must have heard her comment about Biology class because now that was going around too. For every person that whispered about Allison being a murderer there was another countering to point out that the idea was ridiculous.

Stiles lingered at his locker as school let out, waiting for Scott to say goodbye to Allison so that they could get to lacrosse practice. He was already mentally revising his full moon plan. Stiles figured that Scott should be alright on his own tonight. Deaton and Stiles had been practicing control with Scott all month. They were both pretty confident that he was doing a good job, though Deaton had insisted that Stiles use the linking spell for a full day before and after the full moon just as a precaution. But, as long as no one came into Scott’s house and bashed Allison, Stiles didn’t expect any problems after school. Plus, Stiles wanted to test the range of the linking spell to see how far it would stretch. He didn’t want to chance it on the actual full moon, so tonight would be the trial run. Then, tomorrow night while Scott was over he wanted to test Scott’s ability to shift while linked. 

“I know it was you.” The voice came out of nowhere, startling Stiles out of his thoughts. He turned with Scott and Allison to stare at Boyd. For a minute, Stiles was confused. Boyd was glaring straight at Allison. Stiles thought quickly, but he couldn’t think of anything that Allison could have done to piss off Boyd so much. The guy was usually unflappable. Stiles would know considering the not-quite-stalking he’d been doing of the guy recently.

Allison looked just as startled. “Me?” she asked, her voice rising with surprise and confusion. “What?”

Boyd leaned forward, using all of his height and bulk to put forth quite an intimidating figure. “You were the last person to see Isaac,” Boyd pointed out. “You were the last person to see Erica,” he continued as Allison’s eyes widened. She stepped backwards and Boyd pressed forward. “Both of my friends are missing and the connection is you.” Boyd moved forward faster than Stiles would have expected and slammed Allison back against the lockers. “What did you do to them?”

All noise around them stopped as everyone stared at Boyd. Stiles felt a rise in tension beside him just before a low growl slipped out of Scott. Stiles felt a flare of panic as he looked around at the crowd around him. Definitely not a good time for Scott to turn wolfy. He quickly pushed calm down the link between them. For one second, Scott’s rage flared. Then, the calm took hold. He still looked angry, but not like he was about to wolf-out in the hallway. 

Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but in the same moment Allison pushed Boyd away from her. Her eyes had gone hard in a way that he’d never seen from her before. She looked dangerous. Allison slipped around Boyd quickly. She kept her eyes on him as she backed towards Scott and Stiles. “I don’t know what happened to Erica,” Allison said quickly when Boyd turned towards her. Stiles noted with approval that she kept her body relaxed, ready to move at any moment. She had to have had some kind of self-defense training, maybe something like gymnastics or martial arts. She moved too much like a trained fighter for it to be a coincidence. 

“She was in the nurse’s office when I left,” Allison continued, breaking into Stiles’s thoughts. “The nurse can verify that. I went straight to Biology. I didn’t do anything to Isaac and I certainly didn’t do anything to hurt Erica.” 

Boyd hesitated. Before he could say anything more, teachers appeared in the hall to break up the crowd. Boyd turned and stalked off in the opposite direction down the hallway. Stiles hesitated. He looked over at Scott, who was comforting Allison. She looked genuinely upset by what Boyd had said. Stiles clapped a hand on Scott’s shoulder as he turned to Allison. “We know you didn’t do anything,” he reassured her. “I’m going to go talk to Boyd, see if I can’t calm him down.”

Scott shot him a skeptical look, but Allison nodded. Stiles paid attention to his connection with Scott, but he didn’t pick up any dangerous spikes as he walked away. He kept a mental eye on the link between them just in case. He found Boyd soon enough, sitting hunched over in one of the stairways. Stiles settled down on the step beside him. Boyd gave him a withering look, but Stiles wasn’t actually intimidated. After Alpha werewolves, high schoolers weren’t that scary.

“I know you’re worried about Erica and Isaac,” Stiles said softly. He felt Boyd stiffen beside him, but Stiles kept his gaze out on the floor in front of them. “I know that the three of you were pretty close and if Scott had suddenly gone missing I would probably be acting the same way.” Stiles turned to look at Boyd. “But Allison didn’t do anything,” he said. Boyd’s eyebrows narrowed and he looked like he was about to argue, but Stiles just barreled on. “My dad interviewed the nurse when Erica was reported missing,” Stiles said. “She confirmed that Allison left the room a few minutes after her. The nurse saw Allison walk towards the science rooms. Scott and I can confirm that Allison was in Biology, then lunch, then the rest of her classes that day. She was alone with Erica for less than five minutes. You can ask anyone who has classes with Allison to verify.” Stiles turned to look at Boyd.

The other boy considered Stiles’s words for several long minutes before nodding. “Does your father have any leads?”

Stiles frowned and shook his head. “Not yet,” he admitted. He reached out to pat Boyd on the shoulder as he rose to his feet, but thought better of it at a warning look from Boyd. He shoved his hand in his pocket instead. “I’ll let you know if he finds anything,” he promised. Stiles hesitated at the bottom of the stairs before turning to look back at Boyd. The other boy hadn’t moved yet. He considered his words for a moment before speaking. “Allison isn’t the only link between Isaac and Erica,” he said carefully. “If someone did take them, that person might come after you next. Don’t go looking for them.” Stiles met Boyd’s gaze in hopes of impressing upon the other how serious he was. “Don’t make yourself a target. Don’t wander off alone. Don’t go into the woods. Let the police handle it.”

Boyd didn’t give him any sort of response. Stiles bit back a sigh as he turned away. He really hoped Boyd would listen to him. 

Stiles put Boyd out of his mind as he collected Scott for lacrosse practice. He felt Scott’s agitation spiking randomly through the link. Most likely it was every time Scott started to get offended on Allison’s behalf. Stiles hoped that lacrosse practice would be a good distraction, give Scott something else to focus on. And it was for a while. Scott was fine all through the stretches and running laps and even the drills. Then Coach insisted on running a few plays. He split them up into two opposing ‘teams’ and set them against each other. One of their teammates tackled Scott and Stiles felt his adrenaline spike. Stiles skidded to a stop and pushed more magic into the spell. Scott calmed. 

Unfortunately, the plays Coach wanted to run seemed to keep ending up with Scott getting the ball and the players on the opposite ‘team’ kept tackling him or checking him or blocking or stealing the ball or any number of things that sent Scott’s adrenaline up. Each time it happened Stiles had to turn his focus inwards. He missed passes, ran into people, and in general was a complete mess. Eventually he tripped over his own two feet and pretended to have a twisted ankle just so Coach would send him to the bench. That was so much better. Stiles could close his eyes and tune out the world. It was easy to drop into a semi-trance of relaxation and send that calm on to Scott. 

When practice was finally over Scott lingered behind their teammates as they headed back into the locker room and Stiles lingered with him. “Thanks, man,” Scott said in a whisper. “I’m just freaking out about what people keep saying about Allison and it keeps pissing me off and…” Scott trailed off with a shake of his head. He stopped himself before he started to get too worked up. Scott took a deep breath and let it out slowly like Deaton had taught him. He regained control without Stiles needing to send calm through the bond.

Stiles clapped Scott on the shoulder. “No worries,” he said reassuringly. “You’re still doing a lot better than last month.” Stiles hesitated before they could go into the locker room. “If you want to come over tonight, you’re more than welcome to. If not, I’m pretty sure I can maintain the spell from a distance.” He grinned at Scott. “Better to find out tonight if I can’t, right?”

Scott did not look reassured. He stared at Stiles for a moment before shaking his head. Then, a smile slipped onto his face. “Come on,” he said.

The team had mostly cleared out by the time they got into the room so they were able to get changed and head out of school without having to interact with any of the others. Stiles dropped Scott off at his house and then drove away. He kept checking on the bond as he drove, but it seemed to be holding fine.

Stiles parked his Jeep and raced up the stairs. He threw his bag down in his room, then pulled out his phone.

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Wednesday 6:32 pm

_Think about something that makes you mad._

From: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Wednesday 6:34 pm

_What? Why?_

To: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Wednesday 6:37 pm

_I want to test the spell._

Scott didn’t respond, but a moment later Stiles felt a spike of anger through the bond. His magic rushed in without him having to even think about it. Scott calmed again.

From: Beam Me Up Scotty  
Wednesday 6:52 pm

_Worked fine. Might have taken like a second or 2 longer? Idk_

Stiles beamed down at his phone. At least he didn’t have to worry about being glued to Scott’s hip three days out of the month until they got this werewolf thing down. He flopped down in his chair and started on his homework. He checked on the spell periodically, but there were no more blips that night.

In the morning, Scott reported a calm and boring night. He already had an extra bag with clothes to sleep over at Stiles’s that night and permission from his mom, who was going to be working a night shift anyways. Stiles rode that feeling of success for all of two periods before his classmates started to grate on his nerves. Boyd’s outburst seemed to rekindle the fires of those that insisted Allison had done something to Erica and Isaac. There were still plenty of people who protested her innocence, but the rumors kept going. Stiles just kept sending calm through the bond at Scott and smiling at Allison whenever possible and dismissed the rest as not his problem.

Thursday night his dad ordered pizza. They all sat down together to watch some Walking Dead while they ate. After a couple episodes, Stiles dragged Scott up to his room on the pretense of working on Scott’s English paper. Really, he just badgered Scott until he agreed to experiment with shifting while the spell was in place. It took a little bit of trial and error, but by eleven Scott was able to get his claws to spring out without Stiles’s spell shoving calm at him. They both considered it a success. The moon rose and Scott’s wolf stirred. Stiles’s spell kept Scott sleeping peacefully, even while Stiles himself dozed. There were no incidents at all that night. Stiles rewarded them both with chocolate chip pancakes in the morning, which Stiles accompanied with two rounds of coffee and a travel mug to take with him to school. He went into school feeling tired, but overall pretty good about life.

Friday morning, Boyd’s parents reported him missing. 

Sheriff Stilinski pulled Allison out of class for questioning that afternoon. Stiles had to keep a firm grip on Scott’s hand and forced calm down his throat while they watched. The rumors started up around them, but Stiles was quick to glare at anyone who opened their mouth in Scott’s vicinity. As soon as school let out, Scott insisted that Stiles drive him down to the police station. By the time they arrived, Allison had already been let go, but Scott insisted on making a statement to account for the time that Allison had spent with him and Stiles after Erica and Boyd went missing. Noah exchanged glances with Stiles the whole time, but took the statement and logged it without complaint.

Stiles invited himself over to the McCall house that night, simply following Scott into the house instead of dropping him off. Scott hadn’t stopped talking about Allison since they’d left the station. He gave Stiles minute by minute updates of every text between them. Allison’s father was apparently livid. He’d put a ban on her going anywhere by herself. All fun was ruined forever. Stiles simply nodded along with Scott’s rants and kept a steady stream of calm flowing down the link every time Scott worked himself up. He decided to extend the spell for another night. Thankfully he had some cash on him because the extended use of the spell was making him starving and the McCall’s kitchen was not stocked for an invasion. He ordered two pizza for them and ended up eating the majority of it himself. Scott looked truly impressed. 

By Saturday afternoon, Scott was calm enough that Stiles gave in and agreed to let him out of the house. The calm might have been aided by their destination, Allison’s house. Apparently while her father had forbidden her to go out, Mr. Argent hadn’t put any limitations on friends coming over. They picked up some of Allison’s favorite foods on the way. 

Stiles was actually kind of intrigued about getting to see the inside of Allison’s house. He’d been by a few times to pick Allison up with Scott, but he’d never seen inside the house. He knew from his father that Chris Argent was some kind of gun dealer, so Stiles fully expected that meant that the man had an impressive collection inside his house. Plus, he’d never actually been in a teenage girl’s room before. There’d been his friend Heather in elementary school, but none since then. 

Stiles shifted from foot to foot while Scott pressed the doorbell. A few moments later the door opened. 

“Scott,” Mr. Argent greeted evenly. He looked past Scott to regard Stiles. “I don’t think I’ve met your friend.” Mr. Argent had a pleasant expression pasted on his face, but his eyes were critical. They seemed to take in everything about Stiles. His weight shifted in a way that suggested he was used to accommodating for a firearm, though Stiles was relieved to note Mr. Argent didn’t actually seem to be armed at the moment. 

Stiles swallowed down his nervousness and forced himself to give the man his goofiest smile. “Stiles Stilinski,” he said with a small wave. 

Mr. Argent raised an eyebrow. “Are you related to Sheriff Stilinski?” he asked as he stepped back from the doorway and waved them inside. 

“That’s my dad,” he said with a bubble of pride. Stiles did his best not to stare too obviously as he looked around the little entryway and into the living room beyond. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the simply decorated living room was not it. For someone who was essentially an arms dealer he expected something more rustic, or more elaborate at least. There weren’t even any guns on display. Instead there were a few family photographs on the walls and some books scattered on shelves around the room.

Mr. Argent merely nodded as walked over to the staircase. “Allison, your friends are here,” he called. 

Allison appeared at the railing near the stairs where the second floor overlooked the first. She smiled down at them. “One second, then you can come up,” she promised before darting out of sight again. “I just need to finish putting some clothes away.”

Mr. Argent turned to look at them. “And what are your plans for this evening?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Stiles let out a nervous laugh. He hefted the bags in his hand. “Just some Thai food and movies,” he said with a smile. “Maybe work on our History papers if we’re feeling wild and crazy.” Mr. Argent almost cracked a smile at that. He opened his mouth, but was cut off by another voice.

“It’s very nice of you boys to come and cheer up Allison, right Chris?” Scott and Stiles both turned to look at the older man walking out of the kitchen. He smiled at them, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. Stiles had to resist taking a step backwards. There was something menacing about the man for all he seemed like a doddering old man. Stiles kind of wanted to check the man’s aura, but at the same time he was a little bit afraid of what he might see.

Allison came bouncing down the stair a moment later and took one of the bags from his hand. She looked over at the old man and smiled. “Grandpa, this is my boyfriend Scott and his best friend, Stiles,” she said as she leaned forward to press a kiss to Scott’s cheek. “This is my grandfather, Gerard.”


	11. Dead Ends

Stiles fidgeted with his shirt sleeves as he tried to force himself to pay attention to the movie playing on Allison's laptop. It wasn't that it was a bad movie. He liked the Hunger Games. Katniss was awesome. But his mind kept drifting back to Gerard. There was something about the man that scared the crap out of Stiles. Yet, he really wanted to know why. It was like a figurative train wreck in his mind. Logically, Stiles knew he shouldn't look, that his mental health would be better off not looking, but he couldn't resist.

Stiles rolled off the bed and stood. He looked over at Allison and Scott, still curled around each other. “Do you mind if I go down and grab a drink?” he asked.

Allison blinked up at him and then reached forward to pause the movie. She easily slid out of Scott’s arms and off the bed. “I’ll go with you,” she offered. “We can grab some extras for later.”

Scott started to stand but Allison waved him back down. She pressed a kiss to his lips that was so sweet Stiles felt a cavity form just watching them. When Allison opened her door, he thought he heard Gerard and Chris talking, but their conversation cut off as soon as he and Allison started down the stairs. The two men were sitting in the living room, Chris on one end of the couch and Gerard on a chair nearby. The TV was on, but it didn't seem like they were actually paying attention. They smiled at Allison and Stiles as they crossed the room into the kitchen.

Stiles lingered in the doorway. He shifted so that he could just see Gerard and Chris, but they wouldn’t be able to see him unless they turned. Stiles let his vision unfocus. Chris’s aura was almost the same as Allison’s. It was a deep, blood red that surrounded him like a shield. Where Allison’s aura had a crown, his had a fleur de lis. Which, kind of made sense considering the French last name. 

He looked over at Gerard and had to dig his nails into his palm to keep from physically recoiling. The man's aura was a flickering, swirling mass of pale grey and blood red so deep he was surprised it wasn't dripping onto the carpet. He could only see the man's torso, but what was visible was covered in a mass of lesions. The man turned slightly. Just a glimpse of Gerard's face was enough to send Stiles ducking out of sight. Thick black goo oozed from the man's ears and nose. It ran in lines from the corners of Gerard's eyes. And the man’s eyes. The aura didn’t change Gerard’s expression, but the eyes that looked out through the filter of grey and red were soulless and gave him the feeling of staring into the abyss. Above Gerard was a fleur de lis, but his had edges so sharp they could cut someone. And, behind him, Stiles got the impression of dozens of people, each face appearing and disappearing in a flash and all with expressions of fear and pain and agony. Stiles knew in that moment that if there was anything close to pure evil on this Earth, Gerard Argent was it.

“Stiles?” Allison’s voice made him jump. He looked up at her with wide eyes. “Are you alright?” she asked. “You look a little pale.”

He forced himself to blink and relax his features into a more normal expression. He chuckled. Stiles ran a hand through his hair before reaching out to take some of the cans of pop from her. “I’m fine,” he said softly. “It’s nothing.” 

Allison regarded him for a moment more before gathering up the remaining cans and leading the way back up to her room. Chris and Gerard hadn’t moved from the couch. Neither talked while he and Allison crossed the room and went back up the stairs. The entire way, Stiles felt Gerard’s eyes watching him. It was all he could do not to shiver. He only relaxed when they were safely in Allison’s room again. He set the three extra cans he carried onto Allison’s desk and then accepted one of the three that Allison had carried. He hesitated before sitting back down on the bed again.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Stiles said softly, “but there’s something about your grandfather that creeps me out.”

Scott shot Stiles a shocked and surprised look, but Allison’s features went carefully blank. She regarded him for a long moment. In that moment, Stiles wondered if maybe there was more to Allison than the Disney princess-like sweetness they usually saw. Then, Allison shrugged and her features smoothed out. She reached forward to resume the move. “He has that effect on some people,” was all she said.

After the Hunger Games was over and the Thai food was decimated, they switched to the first Avengers movie. They’d all seen the movie before, so there was more than one scene where they said the lines along with the characters. Allison actually seemed interested when he went on a diatribe about how they changed Asgardian culture for the movies and how it was better in the comic books. In return, he listened to her multiple complaints about how Hawkeye’s form was all wrong and if he needed two arm guards he must be smacking the shit out of his arm. Scott looked at Allison adoringly throughout her rants. Stiles felt like he should be taking notes in case he ever needed to pick up a bow. Obviously, Allison was a badass when it came to archery, which was new information for him. 

“Shouldn't you boys be getting home?” Mr. Argent asked from Allison's doorway when they were halfway through Captain America. 

Stiles blinked away from the screen to look out the window. He hadn't even noticed it had gotten dark out. He looked back over at Mr. Argent and grinned. “Sure thing,” he said as he untangled himself from Scott and hopped off the bed. He gathered up his and Scott's things while Scott and Allison said goodbye. Mr. Argent followed close behind them on their way out of the house, but Gerard was thankfully absent.

“Dude,” Scott said as they were pulling away from the house, “what do you have against Allison's grandfather? He looks harmless.”

Stiles shuddered at the memory of the man. “I saw his aura. There is something seriously wrong with that man.” 

To say Scott looked skeptical would be putting it mildly. Scott's expression gradually changed to one of horror as Stiles described what he had seen. Scott shuddered too when Stiles described the faces over Gerard's shoulder. Stiles had a sneaking suspicion that they were ghosts, but he wasn't sure he wanted to mention that to Scott. He looked freaked out enough. They drove in silence for several minutes. “What do you think it means?” Scott asked as they pulled up to his house.

Stiles put the Jeep in park as he considered his answer. “Well, Allison, Chris, and Gerard all have the same blood red aura,” he pointed out. “The only thing they have in common is that they're all Argents. And Deaton said that the Argents are werewolf Hunters, so maybe blood red means Hunter?” He bit at his thumb and continued to think out loud. “I mean, I could definitely see Gerard hunting down and murdering people.”

“But, what about Allison?” Scott sounded offended on Allison's behalf. “You think she's killed people? And, her dad's a bit intimidating but I wouldn't suspect him for a murderer.”

Stiles shook his head. “Chris's aura was different than Gerard's, lighter. And Allison’s is faint, like Erica and Boyd’s were. So, maybe since theirs meant that Boyd and Erica were going to become werewolves, hers means she's going to be a Hunter in the future? Like she has the potential?” He ran his hands through his hair as he thought. “Also, Chris's aura didn't feel bad? It felt… protective.” He shrugged again. “But, there was just something about Gerard’s aura that creeped me out. Not kidding, dude, but I would swear that that man is one hundred percent pure evil.”

************

With Boyd and Erica gone, Stiles had no more leads. The only other person at school who had the potential to become a werewolf was Jackson, but his aura was an incredibly faint flickering mess that Stiles couldn’t make any sense of. Stiles checked when people were arriving at school again and at lunch, but no one else stood out.

Allison was still a hot topic of conversation at school, but as the week went on and nothing new came from the disappearances, the gossips moved on to other topics. By Wednesday, everyone was so focused on Lydia’s party that Friday that Allison was forgotten. Stiles was actually a little surprised to find that he and Scott were both invited to the party, and not just as part of the lacrosse team. Lydia made a point of asking both them and Allison during lunch. None of them were really in a festive mood, but Lydia seemed very determined to have the party. He wasn’t sure if it was her way of doing something nice for Allison or if it was just an attempt at some form of normalcy when half the school was pretending not to be freaked out about the disappearances. Whatever the reason, it was a Lydia party, so everyone would be there and he was pretty sure Lydia would kill him if he didn’t show up. Or she’d make Jackson do it.

Early Friday evening Stiles found himself once again standing with Scott in front of the Argent household. This time, though, Allison was at the door as soon as they pressed the doorbell. She had her coat in hand and was just about to slip out the door when a voice from inside the house stopped her.

“Allison,” Mr. Argent called. Allison flinched, then turned to face her father with a smile plastered on her face. 

“Hi, dad,” Allison said with a sweet smile. “Scott, Stiles, and I were just about to head out.”

“And where are you going?” Chris asked with a raised eyebrow. He glanced between Scott and Stiles suspiciously.

“Just to Lydia’s party,” Allison said. 

Chris frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not sure I like the idea of you going out with everything that’s been going on.”

Stiles caught Scott’s deflating expression and Allison’s look of growing stubbornness and decided to step in. “We won’t let her out of our sight,” he promised. Mr. Argent turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, but Stiles had seen much more intimidating things lately. He pasted on a smile. “Half the school will be at the party,” he said reassuringly. “I will personally make sure that Allison gets to the party safely, doesn’t wander off during the party, and comes home safely.” He forced his grin wider. “Only way it could be safer is if my dad was the one doing the driving.”

Mr. Argent seemed to contemplate this for a long minute. He pointed a finger at Stiles and then Scott. “I expect her home by midnight.”

Stiles turned to look at Allison. He nodded when he saw her also nod her agreement. Stiles took his cue and beat a hasty retreat to the Jeep. He tuned out Scott and Allison’s recap of everything they’d done in the whole three hours they’d been apart as he made his way to Lydia’s. The party was already in full swing by the time they got there. Stiles trailed behind Scott and Allison like he’d promised. He wasn’t so much concerned about Mr. Argent as he was making sure Scott didn’t wolf out if someone said something unkind to Allison. 

No one seemed to react to her presence though. Lydia pulled Allison into a hug when she spotted them, and Danny and Jackson nodded a quick hello from where they were talking with some other guys from the lacrosse team, but other than that Allison’s status as a social pariah seemed to have been forgotten in favor of drinking and dancing. Eventually they made their way out to the pool. It was still a little too chilly to go swimming, but there were pillows and chairs set out around the yard. Scott and Allison chose two pillows near the pool and Stiles didn’t need the meaningful glance from Scott to take a hint to give them some time alone. He plopped down on an out of the way patio chair where he could see Allison and Scott while still giving them some privacy. Stiles sank back into the chair and looked up at the night sky. There weren’t nearly as many stars visible in town as there would be out in the preserve, but for some reason he was reminded of the night that he and Scott went camping and he made the fire dance in the sky. He kind of missed how much simpler life had been then. 

“Are you still angsting over Isaac going missing?”

Stiles startled upright. He looked over at Cora, who was watching him from the chair next to his. Stiles raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t angsting,” he said defensively. He glanced over at Scott, just to confirm that he and Allison hadn’t moved. When he glanced back over at Cora she was giving him a judging look. “I wasn’t…”

Cora snorted. “You know something about Erica and Boyd.” It wasn’t a question.

Stiles’s eyes narrowed. He considered Cora for a long moment while he tried to decide how to answer. “I’ve seen my father’s files,” he said carefully. “I’m pretty certain that whoever took them also took Isaac.”

Cora was silent for a long minute before she turned to look out at the crowd. He turned to follow her gaze. It was kind of weird when he thought about it. Somewhere out there was an Alpha werewolf essentially holding three of their classmates hostage, assuming they had survived the bite, and here they were having a party and pretending like nothing was wrong. He wondered if Cora was also thinking about how absurd it was.

“You should stay away from the Argents.” Cora’s face was a calm mask, as if she hadn’t just dropped a conversational bomb on him. Stiles glanced from her over to Allison and back again.

“Allison didn’t have anything to do with the disappearances,” he said with certainty. 

Cora glanced at him before looking back over at Allison. “That doesn’t mean she’s not dangerous, and her family more so.”

Stiles opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off when someone screamed, high pitched and full of terror. The scream hit him like a shock wave, though none of the others seemed to feel it physically like he had. Stiles shot to his feet, but Cora was faster. While most of their classmates were milling around, Cora and Stiles were booking it towards the back gate. He saw Scott and Allison starting towards them, but called over his shoulder for them to stay there. Allison looked like she was going to protest. Stiles didn’t stick around to argue with her. 

The rear of Lydia’s property opened onto the preserve. Cora ran around the side of the house towards the back. She paused near an open window. Cora turned her head away, but Stiles could see her sniffing the air. She started a few steps further into the woods, then stopped abruptly with a frustrated expression. 

“Can you tell who it was?” he asked quietly. He scanned the woods, looking for any sign of the Alpha. His magic bubbled just below the surface of his skin, ready to react if anything moved. Nothing did.

“I think…” Cora shook her head. “I’m not sure.” She looked out at the woods, her body just as tense as his. 

Stiles startled when he heard the sound of sirens approaching. He turned to look at the house as the sound grew closer. When he looked back, Cora was gone. Stiles cursed. He hesitated for a minute before turning and heading back inside. Scott and Allison were waiting right inside the gate. Some of their classmates were lingering there, but it looked like a lot of them had left. Stiles pushed through the remaining crowd, looking for Lydia or Jackson, or anyone who would know who had screamed.

He practically ran into Jackson as he was coming outside with Danny behind him. Jackson made as if to brush past him, but Stiles grabbed his arm before he could. “Have you seen Lydia?” he asked quickly.

Jackson frowned. His eyes flicked to the patio behind Stiles before turning back to Stiles. “I thought she was outside.”

Stiles shook his head. “I was just coming inside to look for her,” he said. He caught sight of the worried look on Danny’s face and swore. Before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. He glanced towards the front of the house and saw flashing lights reflecting off the walls. Stiles grabbed Jackson and Danny and pushed them back inside. “Get rid of the alcohol,” he ordered, shoving them towards the kitchen. “If anyone’s drunk, get them out of here. I’ll go handle the deputies and see if we can find Lydia.”

For a moment, Jackson seemed like he was going to argue, but Danny dragged him away before he could. Stiles hurried towards the front of the house. There were still some of his classmates milling around, but none of them seemed obviously intoxicated. There were a few girls in the hallway who seemed to be having a debate about whether to go find Lydia or to answer the door. Stiles rolled his eyes and pushed past them. He was oddly relieved to find his father on the other end of the door.

“Dad,” he greeted. He stepped aside to let him and Deputies Brady and Cross inside. His father opened his mouth, but Stiles cut him off before he could ask the question. It wasn’t like he didn’t already know what was going to be asked. “We heard a girl scream,” he said. “I think it came from the back of the house, but when we went out there, no one was there. Jackson, Danny, and I have been trying to find Lydia, but we haven’t managed to yet. Her parents are out of town until tomorrow afternoon.”

His father nodded. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions yet,” he said carefully. Noah turned to look at Brady over his shoulder. “Why don’t you check upstairs and see if anyone’s seen Lydia or saw someone scream. Cross, you check the basement. The two of you meet in the middle and split this floor.” Noah turned back to Stiles. “Show me where you thought you heard the scream come from.”

Stiles led his father out onto the patio. He started towards the back gate, but paused when his father slowed. His father was looking at Scott and Allison, who had moved to Stiles’s forgotten chair. Noah seemed to notice Stiles looking. He waved a hand for Stiles to start moving again. They went around the back of the house, but there was no trace of anyone. Stiles nodded towards the open window and then took a few steps forward. “I think it came from about here,” he said.

Noah pulled out a flashlight and peered around the edge of the window and the grass below it. He noticed that his father was being very careful about where he stepped. Stiles hovered nearby, trying to catch a glimpse of anything without contaminating a possible crime scene. He didn’t see any blood, but the grass in that area looked like it might have been trampled on. “You said someone else came out here with you?” Noah asked as he knelt down to examine some broken branches near the treeline. 

“Yeah,” Stiles replied. “I was talking to Cora Hale when we heard the scream. She came out here with me, but neither of us saw anyone.”

“I’d like to talk to her,” Noah said as he rose. He carefully made his way back across the ground towards Stiles and headed back inside.

“I think she might have left,” he said. His father opened his mouth, probably to say something about not letting witnesses leave the scene, but Stiles cut him off. “I know, she shouldn’t have left.” Noah’s mouth snapped closed again. “But I didn’t exactly get a say in it. I looked up and she was gone.” He waved a hand out towards the woods. “The Hales don’t live too far from here, so you can always stop there next to talk to her.”

Noah looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. Then his eyes narrowed. “Had she been drinking?” 

Stiles snorted. He and Scott had done some experimenting and they were pretty sure werewolves couldn’t get drunk. Not that he was going to tell his father that. “No,” he said. “She hasn’t.”

His father raised an eyebrow. “Have you been?”

Stiles shook his head. “Just soda,” he said with a reassuring smile. “Before you ask, neither have Scott or Allison. I know for certain because her father practically ordered us not to let her out of our sight.” Stiles swore as he remembered Mr. Argent. “And he’s probably never going to let her out of the house again after this.” He looked back up at his father. “Just in case someone has gone missing, I can confirm that Allison arrived with us and hasn’t left my sight until I ran outside. Scott stayed inside with her.”

Noah shot him a curious look. “You think someone else has gone missing?”

He shrugged. “Call it a gut feeling.”

His father looked thoughtful before nodding. Noah looked over towards the gate into the patio. “And if it was Lydia… Allison and Lydia are friends, right?”

“Yup,” Stiles confirmed. “But Allison never left our sight. She didn’t even go to the bathroom.”

Noah nodded. He patted Stiles on the shoulder. “I think maybe you should take her and Scott home. I’ll let you know if we find Lydia.”

Stiles hesitated for a moment, but his father didn’t seem to be in the mood to argue. He gathered up Scott and Allison and herded them towards the front door. He tried to spot Jackson, Danny, or Lydia, but none of them appeared in the mass of people shuffling out. Stiles felt a ball of worry growing in his stomach. Scott and Allison seemed to be feeling the same. The car ride back to Allison’s was quiet, broken only by Scott and Allison’s goodbyes when they reached her house. They watched to make sure Allison got inside, but Stiles left as soon as he could. He did not want to face Mr. Argent, or worse, Gerard.

Once he was at home, he couldn’t relax. He tried to sleep, but he ended up tossing and turning for an hour before giving up. Stiles glanced at his phone, but there wasn’t any word from his father. He looked at the books from Deaton he’d been working through, but none of them were drawing him in. It felt like he had too much energy and he couldn’t decide if it was his magic building up or his anxiety. He couldn’t go running because his father would definitely flip out if he came home and Stiles wasn’t there. Instead, he settled for cleaning his room. Then, he did the upstairs bathroom and started a load of laundry. He was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen when his dad finally came home. Stiles dropped what he was doing and rushed to the doorway.

“Jesus!” Noah exclaimed when he looked up from taking off his boots and Stiles was just there. The Sheriff shook his head as he shucked his jacket and hung it on a hook in the hallway. “It’s the middle of the night, kiddo. Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

Stiles shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep,” he admitted. He wandered back into the kitchen to finish wiping down the oven. His dad followed him. 

Noah looked around the kitchen once before shaking his head and turning towards the refrigerator for a drink. “I can see that,” Noah said, with a nod towards the now gleaming kitchen surfaces. Noah set his beer down on the table before sinking into a chair. “Well,” he began. Stiles set down his rag and turned to give his father his full attention. “Lydia’s definitely missing.” Stiles felt his heart clench at that. “All of the other kids at the party are accounted for, but there was no sign of her. We combed the woods near the house, but the dogs lost the scent and there was no sign of her.” Noah sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “We’re going to pick it up again in the morning when there’s enough light to maybe follow some tracks.”

Stiles nodded. He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t think of what he could possibly say. He turned and started to put the cleaning supplies away instead. Taking Lydia didn’t make sense. She hadn’t had the werewolf aura. Hers was something else entirely that neither he nor Deaton had been able to figure out. He could have understood the Alpha going after Jackson, but… Unless Lydia was one of the ones who didn’t survive the bite... 

The thought sent a burst of panic through his chest. He didn’t even realize he’d made a noise until his father was turning him and forcing him into a chair. His father guided him forward until his head was between his knees. Stiles distantly heard Noah’s voice coaching him through one deep breath and then another. Slowly the panic faded and with it the tightness in his chest. He batted his father’s hand away as he sat back up. 

“I’m okay,” he choked out. Stiles ran a hand over his face. He let out his breath slowly. 

His dad patted him on the shoulder as he straightened again. “Why don’t you try and get some sleep,” Noah suggested. “We can talk about this more tomorrow.”

Stiles considered this for a moment before nodding. He stood slowly, stiffly. He forced himself to finish putting things away before moving up towards the stairs. He barely even remembered making it to his room and passing out on the bed. 

The next morning, or more accurately afternoon, when Stiles woke up, he found a post it note stuck to his phone with a simple “Gone to work. Remember to eat something.” He let out a halfhearted chuckle before setting the note aside. For a minute he contemplated going back to sleep. Curiosity got the better of him after two minutes. Stiles groped for his phone without moving from where he was lying face down on the bed. He raised his head just enough to blink blearily at the phone. There were missed texts from Scott, Allison, and, oddly enough, Jackson. All three were asking if he knew anything about Lydia. He propped himself up on his elbows to type back a reply.

To: Beam Me Up Scotty, Alli Cat, Jackass  
Saturday 3:12 pm

_Dad confirmed Lydia is missing. They’re searching the woods near her house today. Will let you know if I hear anything more._

He barely set his phone down again before it rang. Stiles answered with a tired groan, which seemed to be enough for Scott.

“Dude! Does your Dad have any leads on who took Lydia?” Scott’s voice was tight with worry.

Stiles forced himself to sit up. There was no way he was going to get back to sleep now. “No,” he answered around a yawn. “The Alpha left just as little trace as he did when he took Erica, Isaac, and Boyd. I think the guy must have some kind of wilderness survival training or something to be able to hide his tracks so well. Maybe I should look into ex-military werewolves…”

“You think it was the Alpha?”

Stiles gave the phone an incredulous look, even though he knew Scott couldn’t see him. “Unless there’s suddenly two psychopaths kidnapping teenagers, which I really hope is not the case.”

“But Lydia didn’t have the werewolf aura, right? You said hers was green or something like that?”

“Yeah.” Stiles got up off the bed and shifted the things on his desk until he found the notebook where he’d been recording all his observations about the auras. “Green so dark it’s almost black, flowing like a dress,” he read off the paper. “Hadn’t changed at all in the last few weeks.”

Scott made a frustrated sound. “So why take her if he’s not going to make her into a werewolf?”

Stiles bit his lip to keep from saying his theory out loud. He knew it wasn’t logical, but he couldn’t bring himself to utter the words. As if saying that she might be dead would make it happen. He shook his head and forced himself to think of other possibilities. “Maybe…” He floundered for a minute before his eyes fell on his notebook. “Maybe she can’t become a werewolf because she already is something?” He sat down at his desk chair as he thought about the prospect. “Like maybe if you’re already a vampire being bitten by a werewolf doesn’t turn you into one because you’ve already got your supernatural power up.” Stiles shook his head. 

“You think Lydia is a vampire?”

He let out a long suffering sigh. Just like Scott to completely miss the point. “No, I don’t think she’s a vampire,” he bit out. “But, she’s definitely something. I mean, most normal people barely even have a faint color aura and Lydia has a very distinct one. I have to assume that means something. I just don’t know what.”

Scott was silent for a long moment as he seemed to digest that. “Allison’s really upset,” he said finally. Stiles felt like he should have been timing how long it took for the conversation to turn to Allison. He felt a spike of irritation, but forced himself to take a deep breath and let it go. He was over-tired, stressed, and worried and it was making him irritable. He wished he could go for a run in the preserve, but with the deputies out there looking for Lydia it probably wasn’t a good idea.

“It’s not her fault,” Stiles said eventually.

“I know. I tried to tell her that,” Scott replied, “but it just seems like too much of a coincidence that this time it was Lydia that was taken. Her dad is pissed. Allison thinks she’ll be lucky if he lets her come back to school. Her dad was talking about moving again.”

Stiles couldn’t help being surprised by that, though when he thought about it he really shouldn’t have been. If someone was targeting his dad, he’d want to get him as far away from the threat as quickly as possible. He didn’t think Scott would be reassured by that. Stiles looked down at his desk, covered with books about magic and felt helpless. Deaton hadn’t taught him anything that would help in this situation. His eyes fell on the little leather bound journal that had held the heart-mind linking spell. Maybe there was… “I’m going to see if I can find a spell to help locate lost people,” he said out loud. Scott made an inquisitive noise, but Stiles wasn’t paying attention as he flipped open the journal. “If I can track Lydia, then we can find out where the others are, if not who has them.”

“That’s a great idea!” Scott practically shouted into the phone. “If we clear Allison’s name, then her dad won’t make her move.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “And, you know, we could save our kidnapped classmates?” Scott didn’t seem to have an answer to that. Stiles shook his head. “I’m going to get to researching. I’ll let you know if I find anything.” He heard Scott call his thanks, but he was already hanging up the phone. 

He paused his research spiral at some point in the early evening only because his stomach was growling loud enough to distract him. He forced himself to put the books down. Stiles made himself a sandwich in the kitchen and took it out into the backyard to eat. He still didn’t think it was safe to go running, but he could sit with his back against a tree just inside the edges of the preserve. Once he finished his sandwich, he closed his eyes. Deaton had taught him a number of meditation techniques. Trying to make his mind blank never seemed to work for him, but letting his thoughts flow randomly did. He relaxed back against the tree and let the excess energy flow out of him and into the forest as his mind processed everything that he’d just read. 

A dog howled nearby, startling Stiles out of his thoughts. He blinked and realized it had started to grow dark while he’d been meditating. Stiles pushed himself to his feet and stretched out the kinks in his limbs. He pulled out his phone as he wandered back to the house. Other than a text from his dad saying he wouldn’t be home for dinner, there was no news. Once back inside, Stiles made a circuit of the downstairs, putting away his dishes and making sure the doors were locked and the lights were turned off. Then it was back to the books. Sometime around one in the morning he found a spell that might work. It required some kind of link between the caster and the target, which he didn’t really have with Lydia. But some further research on the internet suggested that he could create a temporary link with some of Lydia’s blood. He just needed something to cast the spell onto as well, something that could be used to point the way. Stiles collapsed onto his bed when his eyes were starting to blur. 

He startled awake when he heard his dad’s phone ringing. Stiles forced the covers off and scrambled to the door just in time to see his father coming out of his own bedroom. Noah was still buttoning up his uniform shirt as he walked, which meant it was something urgent. “What’s happened?” he asked. 

“They found Lydia near the road into the preserve.” Stiles felt his heart stop. Some of his dread must have shown on his face because his father held up a hand. “She’s alive,” he said. “I’m going to meet her parents at the hospital.”

Stiles dashed back into his room. “I’m going with you,” he called over his shoulder as he quickly shed his pajamas and pulled on the first shirt and jeans that looked clean. “Don’t leave without me!” He snagged his phone from the charger and took the stairs two at a time. 

Thankfully, his dad was lingering near the doorway. Stiles snagged his keys from the bowl near the door. He was in the passenger seat of the cruiser and buckled in before his father had even finished locking the door. Noah shook his head, but didn’t comment. Stiles didn’t pay attention to his father as they drove. Instead, he pulled out his phone and sent out an update to Scott, Allison, and Jackson. 

Noah pulled into one of the visitor’s spot at the hospital, but hesitated with his hand on the door. “Son, I don’t know how badly injured Lydia is,” he said. His father was watching him seriously. “All I know is that the deputies said that it looked like she had been attacked by some kind of animal. I want you to stay out of the way while I talk to the doctors and Lydia’s parents. And, if they ask you to leave, you’re gone.”

Stiles nodded. He waited a moment in case his father had anything more to say, but that seemed to be the end of his conditions. Stiles opened the door and practically bounced in place as he waited for his father to lead the way into the hospital. Deputy Cross was waiting for them inside. He led them further into the hospital towards a windowed observation room. He caught a flash of strawberry blonde hair and was at the window in a flash. Stiles’s heart was in his throat when he saw Lydia lying there. Her wounds had already been cleaned and bandaged, which was probably a good thing. Judging by the number of bandages that already had tinges of red, it had not been a pretty sight. There were small bandages along Lydia’s arms, probably scratches from branches or claws. The largest bandage was on Lydia’s side. He assumed that was where the Alpha had bitten her. There was none of the black goo that the other dead victims had shown though, which Stiles hoped was a positive sign. He was interrupted from any further observations by Jackson storming into the wing. 

Stiles took one look at the raw fear on Jackson’s face and stepped aside so the other boy could take his spot in front of the window. For a long moment they both just stood there, watching Lydia breathe and the heart monitors beep. “She’ll be alright,” he said, his voice quiet as if not to interrupt the quiet of Lydia’s sleep. 

Jackson nodded, but didn’t respond. Stiles clapped Jackson on the shoulder and started to turn to look for his father. Just as he was stepping away, he heard the beeping of the monitors start to speed up. Stiles whipped back around. Lydia’s heart rate was climbing up drastically. He turned to look for nurse.

“Allison!” 

Stiles startled at the sound of Lydia shout. He stumbled as he turned back to the glass. Nurses rushed into the room from all directions. Lydia didn’t seem to even notice them. Her eyes were open, but she wasn’t focusing on anyone. She shook her head. “Allison,” she called again, quieter this time. The nurses tried to reassure her that she was safe, but Lydia didn’t seem to hear them. She just kept repeating Allison’s name, over and over again.

A hand on his shoulder caused him to startle again. His father grabbed both him and Jackson and steered them down the hall towards the lobby. “Both of you, out of here,” he said, giving them a little shove towards the door. “Jackson, give Stiles a ride home. I’ll let you know when Lydia is allowed to have visitors. Until then, I don’t want to see either of your faces anywhere in this building.”

He wanted to argue, and judging by the mulish look on his face, so did Jackson. But, his dad had on his Sheriff face that said he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Stiles sighed and turned towards the exit to the parking lot. He wasn’t surprised to see Jackson’s flashy car parked as close to the entrance as he could get away with without blocking traffic. “Come on,” he called over his shoulder. “Should probably move your car before you get towed anyways.”

Jackson grumbled, but let Stiles into his car with only a halfhearted warning not to touch anything. Jackson was silent as they turned out of the hospital parking lot. He had a frown on his face and a brooding expression that were in no way indicators of good thoughts. Stiles could pretty much guess where the other boy’s thoughts were heading. 

“Allison didn’t take Lydia,” Stiles said as they stopped at a red light. “You know she was with Scott and I the whole time, plus she would never do anything to hurt Lydia.”

Jackson looked over at him with an unreadable expression. “Something weird is going on,” he said as the light turned green and his car started down the street again. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that all the people going missing are somehow connected to Allison. And you and McCall have both been acting weirder than normal. If McCall wasn’t so much of a dork, I would think that he was juicing. No one gets that good at lacrosse that quickly.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “You think Scott is taking steroids,” he said incredulously. “He doesn’t even like taking vitamins, let alone something like that.” Stiles snorted. “The idea of Scott even finding someone to sell him any kind of illegal substance is laughable.”

Jackson raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t argue. “I’m going to find out what’s going on.” Thankfully, they arrived at his house just in time for him to escape this conversation. He had the door open before Jackson had even parked the car. Jackson didn’t waste any time peeling out of the driveway and off down the street as soon as Stiles was clear of the car.

Once he was back inside, Stiles found himself at a dead end again. He’d found a way to locate missing people, but he had even less of a connection to Isaac, Boyd, or Erica than he did to Lydia. He could try to sneak into the station and see if he could get ahold of a sample of Isaac’s blood, but he wasn’t sure if it was uncontaminated enough to be used for the spell. Plus, what if Isaac had been turned into a werewolf and his blood had somehow been altered in some way? What if he had different antibodies or something that would throw off the spell?

Stiles wasted the rest of the night trying to find some spell that he could use that didn’t require a direct link. He could probably get access to a hair or a piece of clothing, but none of the spells he found mentioned that as a component. There was no news from his father, though he did hear from both Scott and Allison throughout the day. In the end, he collapsed on the bed in defeat and went to sleep.

Monday morning the rumor mill was back in action. Somehow, someone had found out that Lydia had been calling for Allison yesterday and that was taken as an immediate sign of guilt. Allison was once again a social pariah. No one wanted to even breathe the same air as her. The fact that Jackson was absent didn’t help things.

Stiles pulled Scott into a bathroom as soon as he arrived at school and set the linking spell between them. Scott just nodded his thanks. They both knew that someone was going to say something to piss him off sooner rather than later. Together they walked Allison from class to class and generally tried to pretend that everything was normal. Even if no one would sit at the tables adjacent to theirs at lunch. 

Mr. Argent was waiting in his huge black SUV as soon as school let out. Scott looked like the world was ending as he watched them drive away. “He’s going to make her move,” Scott lamented as they climbed into the Jeep. 

Stiles glanced over at Scott before turning towards the waiting line of cars in front of them again. “Maybe he’ll reconsider,” he suggested hopefully. “After all, Allison has a solid alibi for Lydia’s disappearance. I think I can convince my dad that someone is trying to frame her if I present the evidence the right way.”

“Are you going to tell him about werewolves?” Scott asked. 

He considered that for a minute. Even Deaton had suggested that it was better that his dad be informed about the supernatural threats out there. Perhaps it was time that he finally sat down and had the magic and werewolves talk with his dad. It certainly would make it easier to explain his theory about who was actually going after his classmates. Though, he still couldn’t figure out the motive for why the Alpha was trying to frame Allison. 

“My mom’s home tonight,” Scott said as they pulled up to the McCall house. Sure enough, his mom’s sedan was sitting in the driveway. “I think I might go over to Allison’s and see if I can cheer her up. Maybe I can talk her dad into staying.”

Stiles had to bite his lip to keep his snort in. “It’s worth a try,” he said instead. Because he was sure that a werewolf hunter was going to base his decisions about his daughter’s safety on the desires of her high school sweetheart. Not very likely. He kept those thoughts to himself though as he waved at Scott. Stiles turned his Jeep back towards his own house and made plans for another night of probably fruitless research.

**********

Stiles leaned up against Scott’s locker and glanced up at the clock again. There were only a few minutes left before the bell was due to ring. He pulled his phone out and called Scott again. He shifted impatiently as the phone rang. Stiles cursed when the voicemail kicked on. He ended the call and shoved his phone in his pocket again. Stiles bit at his nail and tried not to panic. It was entirely possible that Scott had just overslept and he wasn’t answering the phone because he was biking his way to school.

“Stiles!” He looked up at the voice, but it wasn’t Scott making his way through the halls towards him. “Have you seen Scott?” Allison asked. She had on the expression of someone who was worried, but desperately trying to pretend they weren’t worried. It was kind of sad how well Stiles knew that expression. “He hasn’t been answering my texts.”

Stiles shook his head. “He hasn’t shown up at school yet.” He glanced at the clock again. “What time did he leave your place last night?” he asked. “Maybe he just overslept.”

Allison gave him a confused look. “He didn’t come over last night,” she said slowly.

Stiles swore. He grabbed Allison’s hand and started tugging her towards the entrance to the school. They got a few odd looks, but Stiles ignored them. As they reached the entrance, Allison tugged her hand free. Stiles opened his mouth to argue, but Allison just kept pace with him as he hurried to his Jeep.

It wasn’t until they were out on the street and heading to Scott’s house that Allison spoke again. “Scott’s missing too, isn’t he?” Allison said. Stiles glanced over at her, but couldn’t make the words leave his mouth. There was a tightness in his throat at the thought. He turned to look back at the street. He swore again when he spotted the cruiser parked outside the McCall residence. Scott was definitely missing. Stiles made an abrupt turn, knowing that any of the officers would recognize his Jeep. If they did, they’d tell his dad. He didn’t have time to deal with that right now.

“You know what’s going on,” Allison insisted as they turned back onto the main road. 

Stiles glance over at her and nodded. “I can explain,” he said as he turned the car towards his own house. One thing was certain, Allison was at the center of all of these disappearances. It was like the Alpha was targeting the people closest to Allison, but was too afraid to go after her family directly. Which, kind of made sense considering they were Hunters. He had to wonder if the Alpha had gone after them before, and that was why he had to keep trying to rebuild his pack. He shook his head to dismiss the thought. It didn’t matter right now. 

He pulled into the driveway in front of his house and was out of the Jeep in a flash. He impatiently waited for Allison to climb out before rushing up the steps to unlock the door. Once inside, he herded Allison up the stairs. “I’ve been tracking what’s going on,” he explained as he entered his room. He rushed towards his desk and opened up his laptop. “It’s actually a part of a larger pattern, just lately it’s been focused in Beacon Hills.”

“Stiles, why do you have a map of everywhere I’ve lived?” Allison interrupted, her voice tense. 

Stiles looked up from where he was booting up his computer. “What?” He remembered doing a background check on Allison’s family and their previous residences, but he didn’t remember actually mapping it. Allison waved a hand to the map pinned to his wall that marked the Alpha’s movements. 

He stood and pulled out the two folders that went along with the maps. “Those are animal attacks.” He opened the folder of confirmed cases and pulled out the top few pages. He read off the locations and pointed to the pin on the map. Allison’s eyes widened. She took the folder from him and flipped through each pin. 

“And these pins?” She asked, pointed at the ones inside Beacon Hills.

Stiles considered her for a moment before moving closer. He pointed out each pin in turn. “Scott was bit here. Isaac attacked here. Erica and Boyd I’m just assuming were taken from the school. And Lydia was taken here and found here.” 

Allison’s face was pale. She turned to the collection of supplies arranged on the dresser in front of the map. She picked up a blue pin and stuck it in Beacon Hills. “My dad and I moved here,” she said. She picked up another pin and stuck it in the map. “Before that we lived in San Francisco.” Another pin. “Seattle before that.” Another pin. “Denver before that.” Another pin. “Santa Fe. Oddessa, Texas. Chicago. Tulsa. Richmond.” Each town got it’s own pin. Each one matched an area where the Alpha had attacked. 

A thought struck him. “When did your mom die?” he asked carefully. Allison winced but pointed to the Chicago pin. He flipped through the folder until he found the dates from that. “Two years ago, around September?” Allison nodded. Stiles turned to look at the map. “I’m guessing she had injuries like these?”

“My dad said that it was a hunting accident,” Allison replied. Her voice was heavy with a sadness that Stiles could all too easily relate to. “But there wasn’t any natural animal that would have caused that much damage.”

Stiles looked over at Allison and watched her reaction as he spoke. “Werewolves.” She didn’t flinch. Whatever else he was going to say was cut short by Allison’s phone ringing. 

“It’s my dad,” she said apologetically. Before he could respond his own phone rang. Stiles swore when he saw his father’s picture. 

“Hi Dad,” he greeted with more cheer than he felt. He watched as Allison moved out into the hall to talk to her own father. 

“Stiles! Thank god you’re alright.” His dad’s voice was strained. “Scott’s missing and the school said you didn’t show up to class.”

Stiles ran a hand over his face and started to pace. He felt his magic rise under his skin as anxiety started to build. “I’m fine, dad,” he began reassuringly. “I’m at home.”

His dad let out a long breath. “Okay,” Noah said after a moment. “Just.. stay there for now. Allison didn’t show up to class either and we’re trying to find her.”

“Oh, she’s here too,” he interjected before his dad could work himself up. 

There was a long silence. “Allison is there with you?”

“Yup,” he replied, popping his p. He looked up as Allison walked back into the room. She had a worried expression on her face, which only became more so when she caught his side of the conversation. “We’re both fine, Dad. Just focus on finding Scott.”

“Stiles.” Noah had on his deceptively calm voice. The one he used when talking down people who were about to do something dangerous, like jump off a bridge or shoot up a convenience store full of people. “I need you to get out of the house. I know you think Allison is your friend, but a lot of kids have gone missing lately and the only link is her.”

Stiles shook his head, though he knew his father couldn’t see him. “Dad, it’s not her. Seriously. Scott and I were both with her when Erica and Lydia disappeared and Scott was with her when Boyd went missing. She didn’t do it.” He looked up and saw Allison watching him with a serious expression. 

“I’m sending a cruiser to the house,” his father said. His tone was firm. “She’s the only suspect, son. I have to bring her in.”

“Don’t,” he protested. Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose. He paced for a second before looking up at Allison. “I’ll bring her in to the station.” She frowned for a second before nodding. “We’ll be there shortly dad. Don’t do anything hasty.”

“Stiles…” His dad’s voice cut off when Stiles hung up the phone. He shoved the phone in his pocket and ran both hands through his hair.

“I didn’t do it,” Allison said quietly. 

Stiles let out a sigh and looked up at her. “I know,” he said honestly. “But whoever is behind this is doing a damn good job of framing you.” He looked around his room frantically, trying to think of how to fix this. His eyes fell on the map. 

“You said something about Werewolves before,” Allison said. “Is it one of the local packs?”

“Huh?” Stiles looked up in surprise before shaking his head. “No, it’s not them.” He waved a hand at the map. “I’m pretty sure there’s been an Alpha werewolf tracking your family for months.” He picked up one of the folders and waved it at her. Allison grabbed it before the papers could go flying and started to flip through. “He’s been trying to build a pack everywhere he goes, but either they don’t turn or they die some other way and he keeps having to start again.” He trails a finger along the route the Alpha had taken, which made so much more sense now. It had been stalking the Argents. 

“It’s been trying to build a pack since it got to town,” he said, turning to the blown up map of Beacon Hills. “First Scott, then Isaac, Erica, and Boyd…” He bit at his thumb as he thought. “Lydia too, though for some reason it didn’t take and she didn’t die…”

“Wait,” Allison said, breaking into his thoughts. “Scott isn’t part of one of the local packs?”

Stiles looked up and shook his head. “No, the Alpha bit him a couple months ago.”

Allison’s eyes widened. “Omegas don’t usually live very long without a pack. They go crazy.”

“He has a pack,” Stiles pointed out. He waved a hand between them. “You and me.” Then, a thought occurred to him. “Wait, you know about werewolves? You knew about Scott?”

“I come from a family of werewolf Hunters,” Allison pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “I think I can tell when I’m dating one.”

Stiles contemplated that for a minute before dismissing it. He waved a hand as if he could wave away Allison’s worries. “Scott will be fine. We’ve been working on his control and anchors and everything. Well, he’ll be fine when we get him back. We just have to find him.” Stiles looked at the map again and an idea came to him. He had a link to Scott. He frantically pulled out the drawers of his desk, rooting around in them until he found the object he was looking for. He pulled out the compass with a whoop of success.

“What’s that?” Allison asked as she came closer. She did not seem impressed by the dingy looking compass he held. 

Stiles opened his mouth to explain, but then shook his head. He grabbed Allison’s hand and pulled her out of the room. “I’ll explain on the way,” he said as they made their way downstairs. He locked the door behind them and herded Allison towards the Jeep. “If I don’t get you down to the station soon, my dad really will send a cruiser out here to pick you up.”

“So, your plan is to let your father arrest me?” Allison said, her voice rising. 

“Yes,” he answered simply. He held up a hand before she could argue. “If this Alpha is coming after your friends, then you’re his final target. You’ll be safer in police custody and so will everyone else. If the Alpha thinks he’s succeeded then he’s going to relax for a little bit before he moves on to whatever the next phase of his plan is. Hopefully he’ll get cocky. He won’t be expecting someone to come after Scott and the others. If I can get to them, get them away from him, then they can clear your name.”

Allison seemed to think that over for a minute before nodding. “How are you going to find Scott though?”

Stiles couldn’t help grinning. “Magic,” he said with an exaggerated wave of his fingers. Allison huffed at him, and did not look amused. He let his expression go serious again. “No, seriously,” he said. He rolled his hand until his palm was upwards and let a small flame appear above his hand before rolling his hand to dismiss it again. “Magic.” 

“Oh,” Allison said. Her expression turned thoughtful for a minute before she shook her head. “What about the Alpha? Are you strong enough to take him on?”

Stiles bit his lip as he considered the question. The last time he’d encountered the Alpha, he’d been able to scare it off, but he wasn’t sure what he would be able to do if it came down to a direct confrontation. “Hopefully, he’ll be lured out of wherever he is by you being arrested,” he said. “And I can sneak in, rescue the others, and sneak out.” He pulled into a parking space in front of the station, but didn’t make any move to get out. “I think I know who one of the local packs is,” he said finally. “And I can probably get them to take care of the Alpha. If not, I know someone who can help put me in touch with them.”

Allison nodded. She looked up at the station for a moment before reaching for the door handle. She opened the door, but hesitated before stepping out. “My father and grandfather can help as well,” she offered. 

Stiles pushed open his own door as well. He came around the Jeep and waited while Allison closed her door. “As much as your father seems like a nice guy, I really don’t trust your grandfather.” He shuddered again when he remembered the man’s aura. He saw his father waiting at the doors to the station and shook his head. “I’ll keep it in mind though,” he promised. 

He followed behind Allison as they made their way into the station. His father shot him a frustrated glance before turning to Allison. “Thank you for coming in voluntarily,” he said. “Your father’s waiting for you in one of the conference rooms.” Noah shot a look at Stiles before resting a hand on Allison’s shoulder and steering her towards one of the deputies. “Tara will take you to him.”

Allison cast a glance back over her shoulder at Stiles. He shot her a thumbs up that he hoped was reassuring. Then, the doors closed and cut her from view. “I don’t want you getting involved in this,” Noah said, startling Stiles. 

He looked up at his father. Noah had on his determined Sheriff face. Stiles put on his most innocent look. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he lied. He looked back towards the door where Allison had disappeared. “I’m certain she didn’t do it, though.” He looked back at his father. He opened his mouth to explain, but then closed it again. Stiles couldn’t think of how to explain Allison’s innocence without going into the animal attacks and werewolves and magic. This definitely wasn’t the time or the place for that. He shook his head. “I’ll explain everything tonight,” he promised. He gave his dad a quick hug before jogging out of the station.

“Stiles!” His dad called after him, but Stiles was already sliding into his Jeep. “Stay out of this.” Stiles waved a hand at his father and gunned it out of the station parking lot. He turned his car towards the preserve and pulled the compass from his pocket. He had a friend to save.


	12. The Alpha

“You’re trespassing on private property.” The voice broke Stiles out of his trance. His gaze snapped up and he stopped short.

“Derek?”

The man in question jerked backwards before squinting at Stiles. It was definitely Derek Hale though. He’d recognize those eyebrows anywhere. 

Derek didn't look any different than when Stiles had last seen him at Nicholas's high school graduation party three years ago. Just the sight of him brought back memories of hanging out with the Hale kids. He had idolized Derek and Nicholas growing up, had followed them everywhere when playing with the others. It was like he was suddenly back in time, trailing after Derek as they played in the forest.

Derek almost seemed to sniff the air as he leaned forward to get a better look in the dim light under the trees. “Stiles!?”

Stiles gave a short sheepish wave. He glanced down at the compass in his hand, still pointing true, before looking up again. “I thought you were away at college?”

“I was,” Derek answered. “I graduated early.”

“Oh.” Stiles nodded. He took a few more steps towards the direction the compass pointed. “Well, congratulations. Welcome back. Let’s do lunch, catch up some time.” He looked down at the compass again, glad the spell hadn’t been interrupted. He started forward again. “Say hi to Grandma Vera for me.”

A firm grip on his arm stopped him in his tracks. “Stiles, what are you doing on Hale property?”

“Huh.” Stiles shrugged off Derek’s arm. “Didn’t realize I’d wandered onto your family’s land.” For a moment he had a horrible thought. “Which way is the house?” He looked in the direction Derek was pointing and then down at his compass again before relaxing. The house was too far east to be his destination. He was headed deeper into the preserve. Stiles started forward once more.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” Derek growled. “It’s not safe.”

Stiles waved away his concern. “Don’t worry. I’m leaving. Nothing to see here.” 

Derek was in front of him again. His face took on a scowl so deep, Stiles wondered if Derek’s face was going to stay that way forever. “That’s not the way back to town.” 

Stiles resisted the urge to sigh. He really didn’t have time for this. Who knew what was happening to Scott, werewolf healing or not…

“Derek, what’s taking you so long?” Stiles turned as another familiar voice interrupted his stalemate with Derek. This time he did sigh.

“Hello, Laura. You guys having a reunion or something?”

Laura’s eyes grew wide as she stared at him. “Stiles? What are you doing out here?”

“I was trying to leave, but your brother keeps getting in my way.” He glared at Derek. Once more he tried to step around the older man only to be caught in his grip again. He was so close to shocking that hand and getting on his way. Deaton could go screw himself with his caution. As if sensing it, Derek’s grip tightened. “Dude, don’t damage the goods.” 

Derek growled at him, actually fucking growled at him. “Stiles, what are you doing out here?” He shook Stiles’s arm to enunciate each word.

Stiles decided the time for caution was over. He touched a single fingertip to Derek’s hand and conjured a single spark of energy. As expected, Derek jerked his hand away. Stiles jumped back quickly, and then promptly stumbled on a fallen branch. He staggered a few steps, but didn’t fall. 

“What the fuck, Stiles!” Derek’s growl was definitely more pronounced. And Stiles recognized the slight elongation of teeth from Scott’s first days as a werewolf.

He stared at Derek in shock. “Dude, you’re a werewolf!” He wasn’t sure who was more surprised, him or Derek. Stiles shook his head. He should have guessed anyway considering he knew Cora and Albert were werewolves. This just confirmed his theory that the Hales were one of the packs Deaton had mentioned. Now was really not the time to ponder that, though. He had another werewolf to find. 

“But, that’s none of my business. Promise I won’t tell anyone.” He mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key as he backed away, careful of debris this time. “Anyways, please carry on with your wolfly business. I’ve got… things… I need to be finding, so…” He waved again and started jogging up the path. He had a full minute of Derek and Laura staring after him before they caught up to him.

Laura pushed in front of Derek before the other man could launch into what was obviously going to be a very long tirade. “You know about werewolves?”

Stiles looked down at the compass. The spell was holding. The arrow hadn’t shifted too much. Laura and Derek kept pace with him as he walked, so he decided he could humor them. “Yeah, been friends with one for awhile. Not one of you, a different one.” He considered them for a moment. “I’m guessing your family is the main pack in town. Should have gotten your help during the training-wheels phase.” He turned a speculative glance on the Hales. “You’d be surprised what kind of nonsense is around on the internet.”

Laura actually stopped in her tracks for a moment before jogging to catch up. “You’re friends with a bitten wolf?”

He nodded. The compass was starting to point away from the trail. He considered the merits of sticking with the trail in case it curved ahead versus walking through the underbrush. The needle swung a little further west. Off the trail it was.

“Stiles, do you know who’s been attacking kids?” The way Laura said it made him wonder if this was some kind of werewolf taboo or something. He climbed over a fallen tree limb and checked the compass again. “Stiles!”

He took his gaze off the compass and the ground in front of him. “No, I don’t know.” The Hales’ relief was obvious on their faces. “But I’ll find out soon enough.” Derek looked like he was about to have an apoplexy. 

“And how do you intend to do that?” Laura asked carefully.

Stiles rolled his eyes. For supernatural beings, they really weren’t that imaginative. He held up the compass. “Walking through the woods with a magical compass is not actually one of my hobbies.” He paused and considered his words. "Well, the walking is, but I usually stick to the jogging trails. The magical compass, not so much." His fingers closed around the compass when Derek tried to snatch it from him. “Bad sourwolf, no treats for you.” He flicked a tiny flame at Derek’s growling face. “Unless one of you happens to be able to channel magic, the compass isn’t going to work for you.” He turned around and checked his bearings again. “Now unless you have something helpful to say, I really don’t have time to be playing twenty questions.” 

Derek moved to grab his arm again, but stopped short when Stiles sent another flicker of flame at him. Derek held his hands up in surrender. “It’s all well and good that you can find him, but what do you think you’re going to be able to do against an Alpha werewolf?”

Stiles grimaced. “Alpha werewolf and his pack,” he corrected. Stiles stared back at Derek with all the determination he could muster. “Whatever I have to. He took Scott.”

Laura’s gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him better than any of Derek’s previous attempts. The sympathy in her gaze made his stomach drop. “Stiles, we don’t know if the Alpha’s turning the kids or if he brought others with him. I know you want to find your friend, but you have to realize that he might be different when we find him.”

Stiles felt a small wave of relief. He waved away her concern. “Oh, Scott was bitten months ago. He’s already a werewolf.” His brain took a moment to process the rest of what Laura had said. “We? You’re going to help me?”

“Of course.” Laura grinned and ruffled his hair. She motioned for him to lead the way again as she pulled out a cellphone. “And in a few minutes we’ll have a lot more help.” Stiles watched in surprise as Laura actually called in the cavalry. This was not at all how he expected the day to go. He might actually survive this idiotic mission yet.

It was Stiles’s turn to stare in surprise as Laura made her phone call. “Hi Mom,” Laura said. “Yeah, I found Derek. And Stiles too apparently. Yes, we asked about that. Mom, he’s got a way to find the Alpha. We’re headed there now. Yes, I promise none of us will do anything rash until you get here.” The phone clicked shut and was shoved back into her pocket. “Mom’s on the way with help,” she announced unnecessarily. 

“Is your whole family made up of werewolves?” he asked curiously as they walked. “Were you all born that way or were some of you bitten?”

Derek scowled at him. “Those of us who are wolves were born wolves and the ones that are human were born human. We don’t bite children.” 

“Not unless they’re in danger of dying or something extreme like that,” Laura clarified. “That’s really not a decision a child or even a teenager is really qualified to make.” Stiles was a little offended by that, but after considering it a moment he had to admit she was right. Most of his classmates would be even more horrible if they had supernatural strength. Jackson as a werewolf just made him shudder. He resumed his careful shuffle through the underbrush again. 

“Cora is and Albert, but not Veronica,” he said as he thought over the Hales he knew. “Nicholas?”

“Human,” Laura replied from beside him. She steadied him as he tripped over a loose rock. “So are Peter’s daughter, Charlotte, and Mark’s son, Aaron.” 

“Huh. Has anyone ever done a genetic study on the inheritance rate of the werewolf gene?”

“No, Stiles,” Derek answered dryly. “How about you go home a write a paper on it and leave us the compass?”

Stiles shot a mock hurt look at Derek, much to Laura’s apparent amusement. “I’m wounded, Derek. Truly wounded.” He shook his head sadly before waving the compass again. “And, again, I will remind you that I’m the battery that powers the compass. You want it, you’ve got to bear with the hardship that is my charming presence.” 

Derek growled, but was prevented from making any further comments by the sound of something large crashing through the trees. A rather large wolf charged straight at them. Stiles tensed ready to throw up a shield, but Derek and Laura seemed to recognize the wolf. A few moments later, he spotted other werewolves crashing through the trees in the hybrid form that he was familiar with from helping Scott. “The cavalry I take it?”

Laura nodded as the wolf paced forward and sniffed at Stiles curiously. Once the others had gathered around, Laura spoke. “So, it seems as if Stiles is a magic user and has made a compass that will lead us to the Alpha.”

“Actually,” he corrected, “it’ll lead me to Scott. I’m just assuming that they’re going to be in the same place.” The wolf huffed at him, but nodded for him to continue. Stiles looked around at the others curiously as he started forward again. If Talia was the wolf, then she’d brought her husband and brothers with her as well as Grandma Vera. He liked these odds much better, especially as Talia was probably an Alpha herself. 

After walking through the woods a little farther they came upon a path again, much to Stiles’s relief. By then he could almost feel Scott at the edge of his senses. The closer he came the less he needed the compass. “We’re close,” he whispered, tucking the compass away and ending the spell. “I can feel Scott ahead.” The wolves sniffed at the air, but didn’t seem to find anything. The wolf that he assumed was Talia nodded for him to proceed.

Stiles moved up the path as quietly as he was able to. Derek and Laura followed close behind him while the wolves ranged out on either side. Stiles was grateful for the path, otherwise he was sure the Alpha would have heard him coming from a mile away. The tugging that he associated with Scott grew stronger and stronger as the forest began to thin. He could feel the linking spell taking effect. Scott’s heart rate calmed as Stiles grew closer. 

The wolves in front of him paused, their noses raised in the air. Talia shot a look back at Derek and Laura. Derek rested a hand on Stiles’ shoulder. He raised a finger to his lips. Slowly, the group crept up to the tree line. Derek’s hand on his shoulder kept him low to the ground. Once he peeked through the brush, Stiles spotted the entrance to a cave at the bottom of a small clearing. 

For several long moments nobody moved. All the wolves’ senses seemed to be turned towards the cave. Finally, Talia inched forward. The others followed behind silently. Derek kept a grip on Stiles’s shoulder. He looked like he wanted to argue with Stiles to stay behind, but Stiles only raised an eyebrow at him. Derek rolled his eyes, but relented. 

Stiles stayed at the back of the group as the wolves moved forward into a sort of tunnel into the hillside. The walls were hard packed dirt mixed with smooth rock. There were a few wooden beams at random intervals, propping up the walls and ceiling. If Stiles had to guess, he thought they might be in one of the old mining shafts. There were no lights, but the werewolves seemed to be managing just fine. Once they got a ways away from the entrance, Stiles conjured a tiny ball of light, just enough for him to be able to see. Derek shot him a look, but Stiles just raised an eyebrow at him. He gave Derek a look that he hoped communicated that not everyone could see in the dark. 

A moment later, he heard a low growl and then a thud. The group moved onward. It looked like one of the Hales had taken out the Alpha’s sentry, though whether the man was dead or unconscious Stiles couldn't tell. Stiles bent down until his light shown on the man’s face. He didn’t recognize him from his files on the Alpha. Stiles mentally shrugged and hurried to catch up to the others. 

The tunnel started to widen. Derek and Laura tensed in front of him. Stiles heard the sound of voices from up ahead, growing louder as they approached. They turned the corner and suddenly the tunnel opened into a wide cavern. There was a large, snarling man at the center of the room with three men who must be his betas ranged out behind him. The assorted Hales spread out at the opening to the cavern with Talia at the front and Stiles, Derek, and Laura at the rear nearest the tunnel.

“... not in my territory, Ennis,” Talia was saying. A very naked Talia. Stiles quickly averted his eyes. He supposed clothes didn’t transfer when one did the full shift to a wolf. Regardless, he had no interest in seeing someone who had essentially been a second mother to him growing up naked. It would be like seeing Melissa naked. Just plain weird. Stiles shifted so that the other Hales blocked his view of Talia.

He did take a minute to study the Alpha, who Talia had called Ennis. He was fully human now, with short cropped hair. His eyes glowed red though, showing his agitation. Even without shifting to his Alpha form, he was an intimidating mass of muscles. The man was huge, fully a head taller than almost everyone else in the room. Stiles could only imagine how that strength was enhanced as a werewolf. He was suddenly very glad for the backup, because Stiles did not want to have to fight that man.

The three betas behind him were all male, and pretty large too, though none were nearly as massive as Ennis. Where Ennis was clean shaven with neatly trimmed hair, these three were shaggy and looked practically feral. They were half shifted. Every so often they moved as if eager to tear into the Hales, but seemed to be held back by Ennis’s presence. Stiles was very glad for the wall of werewolves between him and them.

Stiles’s eyes were drawn to a flicker of movement to his left. Stiles spotted Scott just as Scott seemed to spot him. Scott's expression turned to one of relief as their eyes met. Stiles slowly inched his way over to that side of the crowd of Hales. When he got a little closer, he saw Isaac beside Scott. They were crowded into a corner of the cavern with Boyd behind them, his arm wrapped protectively over Erica’s shoulders. The group watched the Hales and the Alpha and his betas with equal wariness. 

“I have a right to get revenge on the Argents,” Ennis growled out as Stiles edged his way around the room. “It doesn’t matter whose territory they’re in. You know what Gerard did to me, to my pack! He would killed your pack too if you and Deucalion hadn’t backed out.” Ennis started ranting about how cowardly Talia and Deucalion were, how they betrayed him, but Stiles tuned the man out. As much as Gerard was a creepy fucker, Ennis was just as crazy and had just as many bodies at his feet. 

Thankfully Ennis’s rant was drawing all of the attention. No one seemed to notice as Stiles slowly made his way along the wall. He would have expected one of the Hales to at least try to stop him, but they seemed to be bristling at Talia’s back. He kept his movements as slow and as graceful as he could manage. Stiles let out a sigh of relief as he slid into place next to Scott. He felt Scott’s relief through their bond. Stiles held out a fist and Scott didn’t leave him hanging. A small smile twitched on his lips.

“Going after innocent children is not the way to lure out Gerard!” Talia snapped. “No matter how much you hate the man. He’s a snake who’s gone slithering down his hole. He won’t come out even for his granddaughter.”

Stiles cleared his throat. “He’s in Beacon Hills,” Stiles pointed out. All eyes in the room whipped over to him. He had to resist laughing at the shocked expression that crossed the Hales’ faces. Derek and Laura looked particularly surprised that he wasn’t still next to them.

“Where is he?” Ennis shouted. His eyes flashed red and his fangs dropped as his face clouded over with rage. 

The Alpha launched himself across the room. Stiles held up a hand and the magic that had been buzzing just under the surface of his skin sprang forward into a solid shield cutting their corner of the cavern off from the rest. The Alpha hit the shield hard. Stiles rocked backwards with the impact. He felt like he’d been tackled by a very large lacrosse player. The shield held though.

Ennis banged a fist against the shield as he pressed up against it. “Ah, yes,” he growled. “The little mage who’s been getting in my way. Are you in league with Gerard?”

Stiles snorted. “No,” he spat out. He couldn’t keep the derision out of his voice. “As far as I’m concerned you’re both creepy as fuck.” 

Ennis growled and pressed up against the barrier, but Stiles’s magic held firm. “And where exactly is Gerard?”

“At his son’s house,” Stiles said, his tone suggesting how little he thought of Ennis’s intelligence. That really should have been the first place Ennis thought to look. Then, his mouth ran away with him. “But, you wouldn’t go there,” he said with a sneer. “After all, Chris got really close to killing you after what happened with his wife.” It was all coming together now. He could practically feel the pieces falling into place. “That’s why you’ve been so eager to build a pack. He wiped out the one you’d managed to build up.” He nodded his head towards the feral betas still glaring at the Hales. “You have to make do with whoever you happened to stumble upon in the woods. Assuming you didn’t kill them by biting them.” He saw a flicker of rage pass Ennis’s face, which he took to mean that he was right. “Until you decided that it was easier to go after kids. I bet you thought Allison would make a much easier target.” 

Beside him, Scott growled. Stiles placed a calming hand on Scott’s shoulder and pushed calm through the bond. He didn’t take his eyes off Ennis. That turned out to be a good idea when Ennis shifted and started to launch himself at the barrier with all his strength. Stiles staggered back a step. He heard the others gasp behind him and poured more energy into his shield. He was starting to feel the drain when a roar sounded from the middle of the room.

Everyone turned to stare at once as Talia roared a challenge. She started to shift mid-shout. Stiles was at the same time disturbed and mildly intrigued. Talia’s body seemed to fold in on itself as she flowed from woman to wolf. Ennis spun around and let out an answering growl. Stiles was apparently not longer important as Ennis charged forward to meet Talia head on. That seemed to be the permission that Ennis’s beta’s needed. They each let out a rumbling growl before launching themselves at whichever Hale happened to be nearest. Stiles turned away in disgust as blood and fur started to fly. He shifted a step to the left, putting himself and his magic between his classmates and the chaos in the rest of the cave.

“Kill the mage then get over here and fight!” Ennis roared, looking directly at the corner where Stiles and the others huddled. Scott’s heart rate picked up, but Stiles’s magic flowed down their bond to keep him calm. Stiles started to look over at Scott when he heard a growl from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to find Boyd, Erica, and Isaac struggling to keep from wolfing out. Even Scott looked a little strained.

“He’s trying to force us to obey him,” Scott said through gritted teeth. “It’s a thing he can do. Some kind of link between the Alpha and us.” Scott looked over at the others. “I don’t know how long they can hold out. They haven’t found their anchors yet.”

Stiles shoved his hand in his back pocket and pulled out his pouch of mountain ash. He threw it at the ground in front of the others. A wave of magic sent one ring of ash around Boyd and Erica and another around Isaac. Stiles turned back to look at Scott. He was still struggling, but the linking spell was holding. “You going to be alright?” he asked.

For a second, Scott seemed to struggle with himself. Then, there was a roar in the center of the room. Stiles whipped his head around in time to see Ennis clashing with Talia. Ennis was more monster than wolf. They clawed and bit at each other, rolling around on the floor before springing apart. Around them the Hales were fighting Ennis’s betas in groups of twos. While the Hales had the betas outnumbered, they seemed to make up for that disadvantage with their lack of self-preservation and crazy determination to rip anything moving apart. Stiles looked away quickly and concentrated on his shield. 

“Stiles,” Scott said, his voice soft as he hovered just at the edge of the shield, “you have to let me out there.” Scott continued at the incredulous look Stiles shot at him. “I have to help stop Ennis. It might be the only way for me to become normal again. I need to do it for Allison.”

Stiles snorted and rolled his eyes. “Dude, this is not a fucking fairy tale.” He waved a hand dramatically at the battle going on in front of them. Because there was no other word to describe the violence and bloodshed around them. “You don’t need to slay the dragon to win the girl. You already won Alison. She likes you fine as is, by which I mean with all limbs attached. I am not letting you out there.”

“But, there was that story about killing the Alpha that bit you to reverse the curse,” Scott argued. He had on his stubborn face. Stiles hated the stubborn face. “I need to at least try.” Scott started to push against the barrier with all of his strength. 

Stiles reached over and yanked Scott back. “Stop that,” he scolded. He relaxed a little when the pressure against his shields cut off. He’d already used a bunch of magic today and he did not need Scott straining the shield and draining his magic. Stiles felt a bit of irritation build when Scott moved forward again. “Deaton told you there was no cure, so don’t waste your time trying. Besides, Allison doesn’t care that you’re a werewolf.”

Scott froze. His eyes grew wide as he stared at Stiles in growing horror. “You told Allison!?”

“No.” Stiles scoffed. That would have been a complete violation of their bro code. That shit was sacred. Besides… “She figured it out herself. Apparently she’s known for awhile.” Scott looked like he was going to faint. Stiles just clapped him on the shoulder. “Anyways, she’s totally cool with it.”

“She is?” Scott’s expression melted into the dopey look he always got when thinking about Allison. Stiles was surprised little cartoon birds weren’t circling around his head. 

“Yes,” he said reassuringly. “And once we get you out of here you can resume your Disney romance.” Scott gave him an offended look. “Dude, don’t even argue with me,” he said before Scott could protest. "She's the prince, you're the princess, and if she wasn't currently in police custody she'd be right here with me trying to rescue you." 

"Don't you mean..." Isaac began from somewhere behind them.

"No, I really do not," Stiles replied at the same time Scott asked, "Alison's been arrested?" 

Stiles took his eyes away from the fight to glance over at his friend. "Yes, but that will easily be fixed when we get you all back to your families and clear her." 

Scott clearly was not reassured at all by that. He began to push against the barrier again. "I've got to help them!" 

Stiles snorted. "Dude, unlike you, they’ve been werewolves for more than a hot minute. They're fine."

Of course, as soon as he said that Ennis sent Laura flying. Talia moved to catch her, but was tackled by one of the betas Stiles didn't recognize. Ennis’s eyes lit up at the opportunity. He dodged the other Hales, raising a clawed hand to strike Talia while she was down, but Vera, Mr. Hale, and Derek all tackled him at the same time. They tumbled together in a ball as Ennis was knocked back to the center of the cave. Meanwhile, Peter swooped in on the beta still on top of Talia. Peter embedded his claws in the beta’s back and tore him off of Talia. He slammed the beta into the wall of the cave. The beta crumpled to the ground and didn’t get back up again. Stiles was actually kind of impressed.

Across the room Talia’s other brother was knocking out a second beta while Laura had the third in a choke hold. Within minutes, they were down. Once the last of the rogue betas taken care of, the Hale pack circled Ennis. Whenever he swung at one of them, the ones behind slashed at him. When he whirled on the ones behind, the ones on the other side took their chance to strike. Ennis's movements started to grow sluggish. He staggered, but regrouped with an echoing roar. His eyes glowed red as he looks around the gathered Hales for an opening. His gaze landed on Stiles. When he met Ennis’s gaze, the alpha’s eyes burned with fury. 

"This is all your fault," Ennis growled. With a sudden surge of strength, he charged. Ennis broke free of the circle of Hales and ran straight at Stiles. Stiles frantically forced more magic into his crumbling shield, but he could feel his energy and will fading. He felt doubt creep in as he worried that the shield wouldn’t be able to hold for long. He braced himself for the impact. 

From off to the side, he thought he heard Talia shout and then suddenly Derek was there in front of him. Ennis raised his claws to strike, leaving his chest wide open. His momentum carried him forward onto Derek's claws. Stiles watched in a mix of fascination and horror as Derek's fingers actually sank into Ennis's chest up to the knuckles. Ennis sagged forward, only to be ripped free by Talia. He fell over backwards. 

For a long moment no one moved. Derek stared down at his bloody hands, horrified. The rest of the Hale pack showed a mixture of emotions as they watched Ennis for any sign of movement. Talia and Mr. Hale were watching Ennis’s body closely while Peter bent down to feel for a pulse. Laura was staring at Derek with a mixture of awe and horror. Vera nudged Ennis with a toe.

Stiles, however, knew a dead man when he saw one. He sagged forward as he released the shield with a shuddering breath, only barely catching himself before he slumped all the way to the ground. Scott was there suddenly holding him up with an arm around Stiles’s chest. 

Talia was the first of the Hales to recover. "Derek, honey?" she asked softly. Stiles was sure there was some kind of monumental occurrence going on that he would freak out over later, but at that moment he didn’t have the energy to focus. Stiles blinked slowly. He looked up at Derek. 

Derek let out a shuddering breath and raised his head. Stiles’s vision began to cloud. His eyes met Derek’s as he fought to stay conscious. Derek’s eyes glowed red. Stiles promptly passed out.


	13. Loose Ends

Stiles floated in a state somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. His whole body ached and his head hurt like he’d gone days without sleeping, even though he knew he’d just been sleeping. A distant noise drew his attention, but he couldn’t quite make out the source. Stiles forced himself to push past his exhaustion and blink his eyes open. He looked up at an unfamiliar ceiling.

He tried to push himself into a sitting position, but found that his muscles weren’t quite cooperating. He was able to turn his head at least. He examined the room curiously and tried to remember what had happened. There was sun coming in through a break in the curtains, so it had to be at least morning. The room was painted in a soft blue. There weren’t any decorations beyond a small potted plant on the dresser. There were no clothes in the open closet, no books or other items. It looked like a guest room, but Stiles couldn’t place whose it might be. It wasn’t the one in his house or Scott’s and those are the only two options that he could imagine. The only thing he recognized was his phone sitting on the nightstand beside him, though it must have run out of charge by now.

“I demand to see my son!” The shout came from somewhere beyond the closed door of the room. For a moment, Stiles’s brain didn’t process the voice, then it hit him.

“Dad?” He tried to shout back but it came out barely above a whisper. Stiles forced moisture into his throat and tried again. “Dad?” He called again, almost making it to normal speaking volume.

It seemed to have been effective because there were voices in the hallway. Stiles turned to face the doorway as Scott and Noah burst into the room with several of the Hales following them. He blinked sleepily at them. His dad looked increasingly worried as he hurried over to sit on the edge of the bed next to Stiles. Scott hovered not far behind.

“Hey, Dad,” Stiles murmured. He tried to lift his arm again, but found the effort to be too tiring, so he just kind of flopped his hand at his dad. That only made the worried lines on Noah’s face deepen. Stiles turned to regard the Hales that had assembled in the room. He had been sure that there were more before, but now only Talia, David, and Grandma Vera remained, perched on the various surfaces around the room. He thought he caught a glimpse of Derek and Laura lingering near the doorway, and assumed the others were probably close enough to eavesdrop. “I don’t mind if you all crowd in,” he said to the Hales. “It’s not like you can’t hear what we’re saying anyways.”

Vera chuckled at that, but only Derek and Laura slipped into the room. Stiles shrugged, or he would have if he could move. He turned to look at his dad as Noah spoke. “Stiles, what the hell happened? Where have you been?”

“I’m fine,” he said reassuringly. He flopped his hand at Scott. “I found Scott, obviously.” He paused as the previous night’s events came back to him. “Yesterday...” He turned to the Hales again. “Was it yesterday?”

“Yes, Stiles,” Talia reassured him. “You slept through the night and into the afternoon.” She cast a glance at his father and back at him, raising an eyebrow. “Would you prefer that we explain to you father what happened?” Her tone when she said ‘explain’ hinted that she was more than willing to give his father a perfectly mundane explanation for events. For a moment, Stiles actually considered that. But, then he saw the worried look on his father’s face, and he knew that he couldn’t lie to him. Not any more.

“Nah,” he said, flopping his hand at her again. “He should hear it from me.” He realized as he said that that he wouldn’t just be revealing his own secrets if he told his father the whole story. “If that’s alright with you?”

The three adult Hales seemed to confer silently for a minute before nodding. “It’s alright,” Talia answered.

Stiles shot her a smile, then turned to glance at Scott. “You might as well sit down too. This is going to be a long story.” Scott nodded, he shuffled around until he was sitting with his back to the headboard and he was pressed up against Stiles’s side. Stiles considered the arranged group for a moment. “Actually, could someone prop me up or something?” He smiled a little ruefully. “It’s a bit awkward like this and I don’t seem to be able to move.”

A vein in his dad’s forehead throbbed at that announcement, but suddenly there were extra pillows being thrown into the room from somewhere out in the hallway. Between Scott and his Dad they got him sitting up like a normal person. He felt very accomplished even though his contribution had only flopping about. “Okay,” he said once he was comfortable. “So…” He tried to figure out where to start. He decided just to go for broke and start at the very beginning so everyone was on the same page. “Remember when I was a kid and Kate Argent tried to burn down the Hale house while I was staying over?” 

Noah blinked at him. “Yeah…” he said hesitantly. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“So, the Argent family is a bunch of werewolf Hunters and the Hales are werewolves,” Stiles just blurted it out to get that part over with.

“Really, Stiles,” Derek spluttered from where he was sitting on the floor across the room. Noah looked like he was about to start yelling, so Stiles glared pointedly at him. Derek sighed. He turned to look at the Sheriff and shifted. Noah sat back down gaping.

“What does that have to do with Ennis, Stiles?” Talia asked curiously.

Stiles flapped at them. “I’m getting there,” he said. “I did say it was a long story.” Once he had everyone’s attention again, he continued. “So, Kate tried to kill the Hales and got killed in the ensuing car chase. After that the Argents moved away. They moved around a lot, and at some point encountered Ennis and pissed him off. And not just a little pissed off, I’m talking major vendetta here.”

Talia spoke up then. “Gerard approached several packs about a peace treaty between the Argent family and the packs. Deucalion, Ennis, and I were invited, but someone tipped us off that it was a trap. We warned Ennis not to go, but I think he did anyways. Gerard wiped out his pack. Only Ennis survived.”

Stiles nodded. “Makes sense.” He flopped his hand again. “Anyways, Ennis started stalking the Argents. They moved around quite frequently, so I don’t think he always managed to track them down before they moved again, but when he did, he tried to go after them.” He turned to his dad. “If you check the places they lived against animal attacks, you’ll find a pattern there. Or, just look at the map in my room...” Stiles shrugged, and felt a little bit of a thrill that his muscles actually complied. Sort of. It was at least more shrug than flop.

“So, he seemed to be mostly targeting Gerard and the hunters that worked with him, but eventually Gerard must have gone off grid, because Ennis shifted his focus to Chris. He came after Chris two years ago, but killed Allison’s mom instead.” Scott gasped, and Stiles realized he hadn’t actually put that together until after Scott went missing. “Allison and I put that together yesterday morning,” he explained to his friend.

“Dude,” Scott murmured. “Allison’s mom was killed by a werewolf? Does that mean…”

“Not the time, Scott,” the Sheriff interrupted. “I still don’t see what all this has to do with why you’re lying in a bed barely able to move.” His dad’s voice grew steadily in volume and hysteria.

“Again, dad, I’m fine,” Stiles reassured. He took a breath and gathered his thoughts again. “Where was I? Right. So, Allison’s family moved to Beacon Hills and Ennis followed, hence your ‘animal attacks’.” He continued before his dad could ask. “Yes, that was Ennis. He was desperate to grow his pack before he took on the Argents again, so he was biting anyone he could find. If they resisted, then he killed them. If not, he took them and turned them. If the bite didn’t take, he left them to die.” He let his dad process that for a moment.

“So all the missing kids and animal attacks in town were Ennis?”

“Yup,” Stiles replied, popping his p. “Ennis apparently decided that if he couldn’t get to Gerard or Chris, he’d go after Allison. He went after anyone that came close to her and framed her.” He was able to move his hand enough to tick off fingers. “Scott was friends with Allison. Isaac was Allison’s partner for the history project. Erica was taken to the nurse’s office by Allison. Boyd confronted Allison about Erica going missing. Lydia was Allison’s best friend. Scott was dating Allison.”

“You listed Scott twice,” Derek pointed out.

Stiles looked over at Derek. “That’s because Ennis attacked Scott twice,” he explained. “He bit and turned him back in December, but either he didn’t know it took or he just didn’t have access to him alone again for awhile. He must have found out, because he grabbed Scott the day before yesterday. Right, Scott?”

Scott nodded. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “He wanted me to bring Allison to him, but when I wouldn’t do that he got angry. He knocked me out and then when I woke up I was in the cave with the others.”

Stiles patted his friend on the knee. “So, Allison and I realized the next morning that Scott was missing and we had a talk, but then you had me bring her in to the station. I tracked down Scott, and ran into the Hales. They took down Ennis, and I passed out. And now we’re here.”

Noah ran a hand over his face. “Why did you pass out, Stiles?”

Stiles ran over his story in his head and realized he’d left out an important bit of information. “Oh, I’m magic.”

Scott and Derek facepalmed almost in-sync. His dad looked like he was about ready to call for the men in white coats. Meanwhile, Grandma Vera and Laura both started chuckling. 

“Explain.” His dad ground out the word in a way that said he was truly at the end of his patience.

Stiles let his body relax as he tried to find his magic. It was faint, but still there. He managed to raise his hand up off the bed and turned his palm up towards his dad. A small flicker of flame sprouted above his palm. He managed to hold it for all of five seconds before it spluttered out. A wave of nausea and exhaustion washed over him and for a minute Stiles felt like he was going to pass out again. 

He blinked in surprise as David Hale leaned over him, checking his pulse. Stiles tried to push him away, but he seemed to have lost the little strength he’d regained. He let David check his vitals and fuss over him. “He’s alright,” David announced to the room. “Just fatigued.” He turned to give Stiles a withering look. “I’m not a medical professional, but I recommend not using magic for awhile.”

“Right. Not going to do that again for a while,” Stiles promised. He turned to look at his dad. “So, I may have used up all my magic looking for Scott and then protecting him and the others while the whole werewolf showdown was going down. Hence, the passing out from magical fatigue. Deaton would know how long it’ll take to get me back on my feet.”

“What the hell does a vet have to do with anything?” Noah asked from where he paced by the bed.

“Oh,” Stiles said. “He’s the one that taught me how to use my magic.”

Noah gave him a long look. “So the whole time you were ‘volunteering’ at the clinic…”

“My own private magic tutor,” he replied. “But, seriously, could someone ask him how long this is going to take?”

Talia spoke up then. “He said he would be stopping by this evening if you hadn’t recovered by then. He is going to look over Scott and the others anyways.”

Stiles blinked at her. He’d completely forgotten about Isaac and the others. “Right. Are they alright?” he asked at the same time as his father whirled on her. 

“You mean the missing kids are here?” Noah demanded.

Talia’s eyes flashed red for a moment, but she kept her composure. “We have to determine how much control they have over the wolf before they can be returned to their families,” she pointed out calmly. “Not just for our own security, but for the safety of their families.” She paused to regard the Sheriff. “Newly turned wolves often find it difficult to control the change. Add in the trauma of being taken and turned against their will as well as the sudden change in Alphas…” She continued at Stiles’s questioning look. “Usually an Alpha’s presence can keep the betas in check, but if the Alpha and beta don’t have any contact or don’t have a strong bond then the beta is on their own. I’m surprised that Scott was able to do so well on his own for months.”

Scott gave a sheepish look at the gathered crowd when everyone turned to look at him expectantly. He slowly raised a hand and pointed a finger at Stiles. “Uh… That was pretty much all Stiles. I mean, Deaton talked to me about anchors and stuff, but that was after we got through the first full moon...” Scott trailed off with a shrug. Stiles totally did not envy his shrugging abilities.

“Oh, this I’ve got to hear,” Laura chimed in from the rear of the room.

Stiles blushed a little at the amazed looks the werewolves were giving him. “Well,” he said slowly. “When Scott got turned we didn’t really know what it was that bit him. And I kind of figured out that he was a werewolf before him…” He shot Scott an apologetic look when the werewolves turned to stare at him instead. Stiles babbled on when it started to get a bit uncomfortable. “But we got through his first full moon fine and did some meditation and such and he hasn’t had a problem in months.” Stiles managed to gather enough energy to raise a hand to Scott for a fistbump, which his friend returned with a smile.

Neither Noah nor Talia looked entirely convinced by his simplistic explanation, but the subject was dropped. “Once we’re sure that they won’t pose any harm,” Talia said after a moment, “they can be ‘found’ and returned to their families, but I don’t think a few more hours will make much of a difference.”

“I can help with that if you need,” Stiles offered. All eyes turned to him. “The spell I use with Scott,” he explained. “I can use it with them.” He considered his current magical capacity and grimaced. “Would probably need a few hours of sleep first, and a lot of coffee, but I could do it. It would keep them from turning.”

Talia gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Stiles, but you’ve done enough for them. We can handle this part.”

Noah bristled. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Talia turned and raised an eyebrow at him. “Your son saved those children,” Talia pointed out in an even voice. “Without him we wouldn’t have found the cave Ennis was holed up in. He held a barrier between them and the rest of us, kept them out of the fight.” Talia’s eyes flickered over to Scott for the briefest of seconds before looking at Stiles again. She gave him a warm, approving smile that reminded him so much of his childhood. Stiles looked away, but couldn’t miss the look of pride his father gave him. 

“In any case,” Talia continued, “we’re far enough from the full moon that they should be safe to go home once they’ve calmed. We’ll check up on them from time to time, but they’ll have access to pack at school between Cora and Albert. And Scott and Stiles too.” Stiles looked up in surprise. Talia just smiled at him though.

“And what happens on the full moon?” Noah asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“I’d like for them to come here and spend time with my pack,” Talia answered, “but that will be up to Derek. He’s their Alpha now.”

Suddenly Derek had all eyes on him. He seemed to like it about as much as Stiles did, judging by the way he shifted and looked away. Noah’s eyebrows raised even higher. His father pinched the bridge of his nose, but bit back any comment he was going to make. Noah took a steadying breath. “For my piece of mind, I’d like to see the other kids. I still have to figure out how to explain all of this…” Noah waved a hand around the room as if to indicate magic and werewolves and etc. “To their parents and the rest of the town.”

Talia’s smile turned sharp. “Peter can help you with that.”

The werewolf in question popped his head in the room. Stiles felt somewhat vindicated. He knew the others were right outside eavesdropping. “Don’t worry, Sheriff,” Peter said with a cocky smile. “Give me an hour and you’ll have it wrapped up all nice with a pretty little bow on it.”

Noah did not seem impressed. He glared at Peter for a minute before sighing and turning back to Stiles. “Will you be alright here for awhile?”

Stiles nodded. His eyelids were already starting to grow heavy. He slumped down into the pillows a little more before waving a hand at his father. “Go,” he said. “I’m just going to take another nap.”

His father gave Stiles a worried look, but must have decided that Stiles would be fine because he turned back to the room. “Alright, let’s get this over with so I can get Stiles home.”

“What about Deaton?” Stiles asked sleepily.

Noah just gave Stiles a look. “He can check on you just as easily at home as he can here.” His father’s look turned dark. “Besides, I’d like to have a little talk with him about secrets and what exactly your training entails.”

Stiles shook his head. He wanted to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. His mouth opened in a jaw cracking yawn. He had to blink to keep his eyes open. Or he could take a nap. Nap sounded good. His eyes drifted closed for a second as he heard the Hales leaving. He felt the bed shift and Scott patted his leg before moving away.

“Stiles?”

He blinked his eyes open to see Derek standing next to the bed. Everyone else had left the room. Derek’s eyebrows were turned down as he frowned. Stiles made a humming noise that he hoped indicated he was listening. He turned his head towards the werewolf, but that seemed to take up the last of his energy. 

“Would you be willing to use your spell?” Derek asked. “On the full moon?”

Stiles let out another yawn and nodded. “Sure thing,” he promised. “Just tell me when and where.” His eyes drifted closed again. He thought he heard Derek murmur a ‘thank you’, but a moment later Stiles was asleep.

 

********

“So, I hear you’re kind of magic,” Erica said as she plopped down in the seat next to Stiles at lunch.

Stiles smirked and raised an eyebrow at her. “And I hear you get furry once a month,” he shot back.

Across the table Allison choked on her drink. He looked up in time to see Scott patting her on the back. Scott shot a glare at him, but it was halfhearted at best. Stiles gave Allison a look that he hoped was apologetic. A moment later Boyd set his tray down next to Erica and Isaac sat across from her, next to Scott. Stiles raised an eyebrow at that. But, then, he supposed that they had kind of bonded through a shared trauma, or something. Or maybe it was just that they all shared a secret. 

“How are you setting in with your foster family?” Scott asked, turning to look at Isaac.

Isaac simply shrugged and looked uncomfortable. “They’re… kind of boring,” he admitted, “but nice… I guess.” He shrugged again and took a bite of his sandwich, effectively cutting off that line of questioning. 

It was Stiles’s turn to choke when Cora dropped down into the seat beside him. “What’s up, losers?” she asked cockily, even as she stole the apple from Stiles’s tray. Stiles shot her an affronted look, but she just raised her eyebrows at him. Stupid Hales and their stupid judgey eyebrows.

Lydia gave their group an odd look as she gracefully sank down onto the seat next to Allison. A moment later, Jackson and Danny sat down, taking the last two seats at the table. “How are you feeling?” Allison asked, her face showing her concern for Lydia.

Lydia grimaced as she flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Like I was bitten by a lunatic,” she replied before taking a savage bite of her own apple. She continued once she’d chewed and swallowed. “Mom wanted me to take another week off, but she was driving me crazy with her constant hovering.” Lydia’s eyes flickered down to Erica and the others, and for a moment, Stiles wondered how much she had seen when Ennis had taken her. Did she know about werewolves? Then, Lydia’s expression cleared. She pasted a smile on her face. “Besides, there’s a dance to plan.”

Stiles shared a commiserating look with Scott as the conversation turned to dates and coordinating outfits and clothes shopping. They even managed to begrudgingly pull Cora and Erica into the the discussion. Stiles took the opportunity to shovel as much food into his face as he could. The first couple days after he’d woken up from his magic overexertion, he’d basically spent eating everything in sight. His father had had to do an emergency grocery run because Noah had come home from work to a barren fridge. Even a week later, Stiles was still eating more than normal. Deaton had said that it was normal while Stiles built back up his energy reserves, but Noah still got a little wild eyed around dinner times. 

He turned to Allison when there was a lull in conversation. “So, now that things have calmed down,” Stiles began, “has your grandfather headed home?” 

His heart sank when Allison grimaced. “No,” she said. She gave Stiles a look that was understanding. While Allison didn’t share his distaste for Gerard, she hadn’t held it against him any of the times they’d talked since. And she’d taken his request to keep Gerard away from the pack to heart. Not even Scott went over to the Argent house while Gerard was home. “He’s talking about sticking around for awhile. Apparently he’s been looking into jobs at the school. He used to be a principle before we started moving around for dad’s job.” She gave Stiles another significant look, which Stiles translated to mean before Ennis started hunting them and Gerard went underground.

“That would be awkward,” Lydia said sympathetically. “My mother keeps talking about applying for a position teaching Biology here if there’s ever an opening.”

Stiles let the conversation flow around him again, though this time his food was forgotten. If Gerard was going to be at the school on a regular basis, then he was going to have more access to the pack. He had learned from Allison that Chris never went after a werewolf or other supernatural creature unless he had solid proof that they’d taken a human life, but he doubted that Gerard followed the same Code. Stiles was already making plans to talk to the Hales about training the new werewolves on how to appear normal. He was probably going to have to have a serious talk with Talia, and maybe Derek too, about why staying far, far away from Gerard would be a good idea.

The bell rang, interrupting his thoughts. Stiles rose with the rest. They headed towards the exits as a group, throwing out their trash, stacking their trays, and filing out in one big crowd. It was weird to walk down the hallway with more than Scott and Allison beside him. The group split off as they went to their separate classes. Yet, now Boyd sat behind them in English instead of off in the far corner. He still didn’t talk much, but his quiet was… friendlier. And Cora sat with him in study hall, which he hadn’t even realized he’d had with her until now. Isaac joined them in History and walked with them to lacrosse practice. 

It was weird, how his life was rearranging itself to accept more people into it. He’d spent so much time with just his dad, Scott, and Melissa that it had felt like a major adjustment to add Allison into his routines. Now the Hales were slipping back into his life like they’d never stopped being part of it. And he had Isaac, Erica, and Boyd in the quasi-pack that he was a part of if only because he and Scott still came as a package deal. He even had Lydia, Jackson, and Danny tangentially in his social circle, in that he seemed to have been accepted as more than just the third wheel with Scott and Allison. 

He’d told Scott back in the cave that life wasn’t a fairy tale, but in some ways maybe they had got their fairy tale ending. The dragon had been slain. The prince and princess reunited. Stiles apparently had enough magic for twenty wizards. And, if everything wasn’t perfect, maybe that was okay. Maybe, it just wasn’t that kind of fairy tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is essentially the end of the first arc of the story. Gerard is still kicking around and we'll see more of him in the sequel. The chapter count is correct. There is one more chapter to this one, a kind of epilogue that transitions between this arc (which I consider build up to the pack) and the next arc (where the pack has to learn to work together). The epilogue is mostly done so it should be up shortly. After that, I want to get a good chunk of the sequel fleshed out before I start posting, so it may be a month or more until the first chapter of that goes up. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed the story so far. Thank you to everyone who has left comments or kudos. I'm sorry if I haven't responded to every comment, but they're all appreciated.


	14. Epilogue

Stiles pulled up at the Hale house and parked next to the line of cars already in front of the house. He looked over at Scott and Isaac. “Ready for Werewolf Weekend Camp?” he asked with a grin. Scott snorted and Isaac rolled his eyes as they all climbed out of the Jeep and grabbed their bags out of the back. The front door of the Hale house opened as they approached. Derek stepped onto the porch and regarded Stiles with a scowl.

“This is not a Camp,” Derek grumbled.

Stiles raised an eyebrow at him. He looked pointedly at the line of cars in the yard and the bags that they were all carrying. “Are we, or are we not,” he said, “sleeping over at a remote location while you bond and do whatever it is werewolves do during full moons?”

Derek’s expression looked pained. “Stiles…”

“Look, sourwolf,” Stiles said as he stepped up onto the porch so that he was even with Derek. “Call it what you want, but try not to suck all the fun out of the weekend. Let me at least pretend that my weekend is going to be more meaningful that staring at a wall while you all are off doing fun things in the woods.”

Derek’s lips turned down into a frown, but the lines around his eyes softened. Stiles wasn’t quite adept at reading the language of Derek’s eyebrows, but he almost thought the man looked worried. “You don’t have to be here,” Derek said hesitantly. “We can manage if…”

“Nope,” Stiles said. He waved a hand over at Isaac. “I remember Scott’s first full moon and I can’t imagine that Ennis spent much time teaching Isaac and the others about control and anchors. I know you’re perfectly capable of dealing with them the hard way, but I’m not okay with that.” He stared Derek down until the man nodded. 

“Okay,” Stiles said, hefting his bag a little higher on his shoulder. “Show me where I can park myself for the weekend and then let’s get this show on the road. I’d like to get the mojo going sooner rather than later.”

Laura appeared in the doorway behind Derek. She snatched the bags from Stiles and Scott’s hands with a grin. “Follow me,” she said before turning away. Stiles shared a glance with Scott before shrugging and following Laura into the house and up the stairs. 

“Stiles, we’re putting you and Scott in the guest room you stayed in before,” Laura announced when they reached the second floor landing. The door to the room was already open. The bed had been pushed up against the far wall and there was a sleeping bag already laid out on the floor. “You two can figure out who sleeps where.” She tossed their bags onto the bed.

Laura pulled open the door to the left. “This is Derek’s room,” she said as she snagged Isaac’s bag from his hand. There were two sleeping bags on the floor, one of which already had a bag sitting on it. Laura set Isaac’s down on the other one. She turned back to them. “Isaac, you and Boyd will be in here.”

Out in the hall again, Laura pointed to a door across the hallway and down a few doors. “Erica will be in Cora’s room over there,” she said. She tapped at a door nearest the stairs. “Here’s the bathroom on this floor. If it’s occupied, there’s one upstairs and two downstairs as well.” She gave them another grin before shooing them towards the stairs. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour of the downstairs.”

Stiles had to smile at the enthusiasm Laura had. He trailed after her and listened to her amusing descriptions of the house. She told them which DVDs Cora was likely to try to get them to watch while they looked in the living room, whose cooking they shouldn’t trust while they passed the kitchen, and how loud Talia will yell if they don’t take off muddy shoes in the mudroom at the back of the house. Stiles lost track of what Laura was saying when she opened the door to the library. She seemed intent to point it out and then move on, but Stiles felt himself drawn in.

It wasn’t quite the Beast’s library in Beauty and the Beast, but it was one impressive collection of books. Stiles stepped into the room as if in a daze. He felt drawn to one corner of the room and he let his feet take him there. Stiles reached out a hand to gently brush against the spine of one of the leather bound books and felt a pleasant thrum of magic spring up at his touch. He reached out to pull the book from the shelf, but a hand on his arm startled him. 

“Dude, the books will be here later,” Scott said as he pulled Stiles away.

Stiles frowned and batted at Scott’s hand. “Go on without me,” he said as he turned back towards the shelf. There were several books with magic on them here, not to mention the hundreds of other books in the room that had to have some interesting information on the supernatural. “I live here now.”

Scott chuckled, but firmly turned Stiles away from the books. With Scott’s new werewolf strength, he easily manhandled Stiles out of the room and shut the door behind them. Stiles looked back at the door longingly. “Come on,” Scott said. “Don’t you have to do that thing?” Scott’s hand was firm on Stiles’s back as he guided them back up the hall to the dining room where the others were waiting.

His nose picked up the smell of pizza as soon as they walked into the dining room. Everyone seemed to be gathered there with a truly mind boggling number of pizza boxes. But then again, he knew how much Scott could put away after becoming a werewolf, so he supposed it was an adequate number for all the wolves involved. “Food first,” he said as his stomach growled. “Then I’ll do the thing.”

Scott nodded as if this was perfectly sound logic, which considering the way Scott was eyeing the Hawaiian pizza Stiles didn’t think he could tear his friend away from the food. Stiles followed the example of the others, loading up his plate from the boxes on the counter before pulling up a seat at the huge dining room table. Dinner with the Hales was nothing like what he was used to. For one thing, it was loud. It seemed like all of the Hales had come home for the full moon, so all fifteen of them were there talking over each other about things like school and work and everything in between. Then there was Stiles, Scott, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd added into the mix. Laura and Talia kept shooting questions at them or trying to draw them into the ongoing conversations. Nicholas asked about lacrosse. Talia’s husband, David, asked about their families and hobbies and what they liked to eat. Even with Stiles’s ADHD it was a chaotic mess of noise that was pretty impossible to follow.

And then, there was the way the food disappeared. There were salads and breadsticks set out on the table in addition to the pizza. Every so often someone would get up and someone else would call out for them to pass over another slice of one of the pies. The stack of empty boxes quickly grew as the werewolves decimated the pizzas. For his part, Stiles made sure to pack away as much food as he could. He knew he was going to be expending a lot of energy this weekend, so while he wasn’t quite at werewolf level of hunger he made a valiant effort.

A growl from his right drew his attention as Erica and Isaac fought over the last piece of the Chicken Finger pizza. Eyes flashed and claws started to come out. “That’s my cue,” Stiles said before any of the Hales could rise to their feet. He pushed away from the table. A flick of magic sliced the piece of pizza in half. Erica and Isaac looked up at him as he approached. They seemed to blink and come back to themselves, looking down at the pizza in their hands and then over at each other sheepishly. Derek beat Stiles to them, hovering to one side as if ready to jump in.

Stiles gave Isaac and Erica a look that he hoped was reassuring. He clapped his hands together. “Okay,” he said as he came to rest in front of Isaac and Erica. “Who’s first?”

Erica and Isaac exchanged a glance before Erica stepped forward. She looked at him dubiously. “Is it okay to do this here?” she asked. “Don’t you need more room or some kind of spell components or something?” 

“Nope,” Stiles said with a smile. He reached out his hands slowly. “Just hold still and relax,” he said as he closed his eyes and dropped into the relaxed semi-trance needed for the spell. “This isn’t going to hurt.” His voice was distant to his own ears and he placed a hand on either side of Erica’s head. His magic poured through his hands and into Erica. She must have felt something because she gasped. He opened his eyes and met Erica’s gaze with his. “Do you consent?” 

Erica’s eyes were wide, but she nodded as best she could without dislodging Stiles’s hands. 

Stiles wrapped his magic around Erica’s mind and then her heart. He pulled a thread back into himself, mirroring the spell on his own heart and mind. He’d had plenty of practice using the spell on Scott, so the spell snapped into place almost instantaneously. Stiles barely even rocked as the link completed. Erica’s heartbeat was still slightly elevated from her recent near wolf-out, so he poured calm through the bond. Her heartbeat slowed. A smile spread on her face as she visibly relaxed. Her shoulders sagged with relief. Erica pulled him in for a hug before he’d even pulled his hands away. 

Stiles chuckled and let his hands fall. He patted Erica awkwardly on the back. “All better now, Catwoman?” he asked softly.

Erica grinned at him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek that left him flustered and blushing before pulling away. Stiles took a deep breath to regain his own calm. He pointed a finger at her as she cackled and bit into her previously forgotten piece of pizza. When he looked up again Derek was staring at him with a shocked expression. Stiles realized then that the room had gone unnaturally quiet. A glance over his shoulder showed that everyone was staring at him. The only one who didn’t look surprised was Scott, who just sent him a thumbs up.

Stiles shook his head to clear away the sudden flare of embarrassment. He turned to Isaac instead. “Next.”

Isaac looked at Stiles with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not kissing you,” he said, even as he stepped forward.

“I’m devastated,” Stiles teased with a grin. He raised his hands towards Isaac’s face. “Same deal, just relax and don’t move.” 

He closed his eyes again and poured his magic into Isaac. Isaac stiffened, but didn’t otherwise react. Stiles opened his eyes and stared into Isaac’s. “Do you consent?” he asked again.

“Sure,” Isaac muttered. He seemed to be trying to move as little as possible, barely moving his jaw when he spoke.

It was just as easy to wrap his magic around Isaac’s mind and heart. The magic seemed to resist a little when it come back into his body, like it wanted to snap into the place where Erica’s link was, but couldn’t. He forced his magic to stretch as he formed new pathways around his own mind and heart. The link to Isaac snapped into place. He rocked again as it settled into place. It took a minute for him to adjust to the two links. He pulled his hands away from Isaac and leaned back against the buffet behind him. He felt a pizza box dig into his lower back and it helped to ground him. He blinked back to himself once he finally was able to separate what inside of him was Erica, what was Isaac, and what was his own. 

“Stiles, are you okay?” 

Stiles blinked his eyes again as he looked up at Derek, who was hovering in front of him. He forced himself to smile. “I’m fine,” he said. He patted Derek on the shoulder, which only made the man grumble. Stiles waved a hand vaguely towards his head. “Just getting a little crowded in here. Never done two at once before.” 

Derek glanced over at where Boyd was still sitting at the table before glancing back at Stiles. “Are you going to be able to do a third one?” Derek looked over at Boyd again. 

“It’s fine,” he said honestly. “Just took a second to get used to.” He crooked a finger at Boyd. “Come here, big guy.”

Boyd snorted but rose and came to stand in front of Stiles. Stiles forced himself to smile. “You know the drill,” he said as he closed his eyes and reached out. Boyd jerked, but didn’t otherwise move when Stiles’s magic flowed into him. He looked back at Stiles impassively when Stiles opened his eyes. “Do you consent?” Stiles asked.

Boyd nodded. Stiles gave the man a little smile as he repeated the spell on Boyd and then himself. Like Isaac, the spell had a little bit of resistance, but snapped into place once the link was completed. Stiles’s hands fell away as he jerked backwards. He felt a hand steady him, but didn’t pay it much attention. It only took a moment to sort Boyd out from the others. He may have looked calm, but Boyd was feeling the pull of the moon just as much as Erica was. Stiles’s magic raced in to calm him. 

Stiles looked up just in time to see Boyd blink in surprise. A small smile stretched his lips and he held out a fist towards Stiles. Stiles grinned as he fistbumped Boyd. He blinked then at the feeling of a hand still resting on his back. He turned and followed the hand up it’s arm to blink in surprise at Derek. Stiles straightened and pulled away. 

“Thanks,” he said awkwardly. He took a step forward and looked away from Derek. His gaze settled on the table and the food there. His stomach rumbled. Stiles snagged his plate and dodged around Derek to get at the pizza. He didn’t even wait to get back to his seat before he started shoving a slice of pizza in his mouth. Beside him Scott just snorted, but when Stiles looked up he found the others all staring at him. He hastily swallowed. “What?”

Across from him Laura looked down at his plate and then back up at Stiles. “How can you still be hungry?” she asked.

Stiles waved his hand over at where Isaac, Boyd, and Erica were now sitting together. “I just did three spells,” he pointed out, holding up three fingers for emphasis. “Magic takes energy. Three spells takes a lot of energy.” He pointed down at his plate. “Food is the fuel the body uses to make energy.” He looked over at Laura and grinned. “Why do you think my dad didn’t volunteer to host this shindig? He saw how much I put away after the whole rescue thing.”

Talia rose from her seat to come over to the three new wolves. She leaned in close, but they just looked back at her calmly. He felt them get a little nervous with her presence, but his magic kept them calm. Talia looked over at Stiles again. She looked impressed. “Whatever you’re doing seems to be working remarkably well,” she said. She patted Stiles on the shoulder as she passed. “I think a little bit extra food is more than enough payment for making their first full moon with the pack an easy one.”

That seemed to be all the others needed to relax. They let Stiles eat in peace for a little while. He got a couple glances, but conversation picked back up. Stiles let the others carry the conversation and concentrated on eating. He managed five more slices before his stomach was satisfied again. Stiles leaned back in his chair with a contented smile once his plate was empty again. Laura gave him an amused look, but didn’t comment. 

After dinner, Talia, Laura, and Derek took the newly bitten werewolves out to the backyard. Stiles wandered out after them and sat on the back porch swing. Most of the rest of the Hales had dispersed throughout the house, but Grandma Vera joined him on the swing. Talia’s method of training the wolves seemed to be focusing on mediation and finding anchors. Stiles was a little proud to see that Scott wasn’t having any difficulty with his control. Isaac was also doing remarkably well. Stiles barely felt any spikes from him, just some tiny flares of frustration while the group tried to learn how to control the shift to just parts of their body, like only flashing their eyes or popping their claws. Boyd and Erica were struggling the most, but they also hadn’t had long to adjust to being werewolves. He could feel their anger and frustration, but his magic moved in to soothe them into calm before he even consciously thought about it. 

Once Talia was satisfied with their progress for the night, she turned the training over to Derek. He had them all sit in a circle and one by one they talked about themselves. Stiles was kind of amused about how earnest Derek was about trying to get to know the others. He seemed to be really focused on building a bond with his betas. Stiles was actually a little impressed with how seriously Derek was taking his new Alpha responsibilities. But, he couldn’t really hear what they were saying, so Stiles found himself growing bored pretty quickly. He said goodnight to Vera and wandered back into the house.

For a moment, he considered joining Cora and some of the others in the living room. It sounded like they had put one of the Marvel movies on. He took two steps down the hallway and stopped. The library was calling to him. Stiles slipped inside and closed the door after himself. Once more his feet drew him to the section of books that he sensed magic from. 

Stiles pulled out the book that had been calling to him. He looked around the room for a moment before spotting a couple of plush chairs not too far way. He sank down into the closest one. Stiles settled the book in his lap, careful of it’s faded pages as he cracked it open. He turned to the first page. Considering the book seemed to be magical, he expected tiny handwriting in a dead language, possibly even encrypted in runes. After all, several of the non-magical books that Deaton had given him were like that. He was more that a little bit surprised to find that it was written in English. Slightly archaic English, but English nonetheless. Stiles carefully traced a finger over the letters and watched as they wavered under his hand as if reacting to his magic. It was kind of awesome.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there reading before someone cleared their throat nearby. Stiles jumped. He scrambled to prevent the book from toppling off of his lap. Stiles clutched at his chest for a second and forced his breathing to calm. He did a quick internal check, but it didn’t seem like Erica, Isaac, or Boyd had been affected by his slight panic. The spell was holding and keeping them calm.

Stiles looked up to see Peter Hale watching him from nearby. He had a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk on his face, but didn’t actually comment on Stiles’s jumpiness. Instead he nodded towards the book in Stiles’s lap. “You can read that?” Peter asked curiously.

Stiles looked down at the book in his lap and then back up at Peter. “Yeah,” he said, confused. He looked over at Peter. “You can’t?”

Peter settled down into the chair next to Stiles. He leaned forward and peered at the book in Stiles’s lap. “It’s complete gibberish,” he said. “What do you see?”

He looked down at the page he’d been reading. “It looks like English to me.” He carefully flipped through the pages. “It’s all written in English.” A thought occurred to him. He closed his eyes and opened them again with the slightly unfocused vision that let him see auras. The book glowed in his vision. If he looked closely, he could almost make out rows of carefully written runes lining the tops and bottoms of the pages. The same runes repeated over and over again, working the spell into the very pages of the book. He blinked his eyes to clear his vision. It still looked like English to him. “Huh,” he said eventually. “An actual _magic_ book.”

Peter rested an elbow on the arm of his chair and rested his chin on his fist. “I’ve always been curious about that one,” he admitted softly. “What’s it about?”

Stiles gently held up the scant few pages he’d gotten through. “So far, just magical theory about the formation of ley lines and the flow of magical energy in relation to the natural world,” he said. His fingers ran over the remaining pages. “I saw some stuff about elemental magic deeper in when I flipped through.”

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to read it out loud?” Peter’s voice was carefully neutral, but Stiles could tell that he was really interested. Stiles shrugged. He turned back to the first page and started reading aloud. 

The book sucked him in. He heard the door to the library open and the sound of the movie being played in the living room, but even though it was a movie that he liked, he couldn’t tear himself away from the book. Not only was the information in the book fascinating, but there was something really cool about being the only one in the entire house who could read it. He was kind of awestruck by the fact that there had to be only a handful of people who had ever read it. And now he was one of them. Well, him and Peter. And, despite how theoretical it was, he could already start to imagine the practical implications. He could just imagine the amount of power he could have access to if he could tap into the ley lines directly. Deaton hadn’t mentioned anything like that, but the book was definitely hinting at the possibility. 

He read so long that his throat became dry and scratchy. He looked up from the book as he swallowed to try and get some moisture in his throat. Peter pressed a bottle of water into his hands. Stiles paused reading only long enough to take a couple swallows before setting the bottle aside on the low table between the chairs. He didn’t even look away from the pages to do so. He picked back up reading right where he stopped. He sipped at the water absentmindedly as he read page after page.

There was a knock on the door. Stiles stuttered midword. He looked up, blinking tired eyes to see Talia walking into the room. She cast an amused glance between Peter and Stiles before gently taking the book from Stiles’s hands. Stiles made a sad noise and reached for the book, but Talia simply slipped a bookmark into his page and set it aside on the desk in the middle of the room. “It’s well after midnight,” she said. She gave him a pointed look. “I think it’s time you get some rest. The book will be here tomorrow.” She held out a hand to Stiles.

Stiles grumbled, but accepted her help getting to his feet. He had to take a moment to stretch out stiff muscles. He hadn’t really moved much in the past few hours and that was starting to catch up with him. Peter’s hand rested on his shoulder for a moment and his aches melted away. Peter squeezed Stiles’s shoulder and smiled gratefully at Stiles before herding him out of the room. Peter was a reassuring presence at his back as Stiles climbed the stairs. Peter followed Stiles to the guest room before slipping away with a simple, “Goodnight, Stiles,” called over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs to the next level. 

Scott was already conked out on the sleeping bag when Stiles slipped into the room. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and used the flashlight app just long enough to find his pajamas and his cell phone charger. Once his cell phone was charging away on the nightstand, Stiles changed in the dark. He kicked his dirty clothes into a corner to be dealt with in the morning and crawled into the bed. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The room was empty when he woke up. Stiles yawned and ran a hand over his face as he forced himself to sit up. He blinked groggily at his cell phone and was surprised to find it was already after ten. He checked on his links with the others, but they were all calm. Stiles sat on the bed for another minute or two while he gathered the energy to stand and get dressed. Eventually he managed to stumble across the hall to the shower. He kept the water cold in hopes that it would wake him up. It actually helped a little. It at least woke him up enough to keep from tripping down the stairs. 

Stiles made his way directly to the kitchen. He grunted an acknowledgement to the vaguely human shaped things in the room as he made a beeline for the full coffee pot. Thankfully there were clean mugs stacked right next to it, because he didn’t think he had the patience for searching cabinets. He poured himself a full mug. Stiles brought the mug up to his face and inhaled the wonderful scent. He channeled a tiny spark of magic through his hand and into the mug until the coffee cooled to the right temperature. Then he drank the whole thing down without pausing to breathe. He repeated the process two more times before he felt awake enough to deal with humanity. He poured himself a fourth cup and turned to face the rest of the kitchen.

Laura, Mark, and Vera were sitting at the table, watching Stiles with wide eyes. Talia had her back to him as she opened the oven and pulled out a covered plate, which she set down at the empty spot at the table. Once she removed the foil the aromas of eggs and cheese and bacon hit his nose and his stomach growled. Talia gently guided him over to the chair and handed him some utensils. 

“Thank you,” he said with a small smile before digging in. He was actually kind of touched that anyone had thought to save some of breakfast for him.

“Scott warned us not to try to talk to you before you had some coffee, but damn.” Laura said with a laugh. “Do you normally drink that much coffee in the morning?” She leaned forward with her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her folded hands. Laura looked at him like he was her new favorite source of entertainment.

Stiles swallowed a bite of egg and shook his head. “Nah, usually I just have one, maybe two cups, but I found out with Scott that coffee helps counteract the drain of the spell. Scott teased me about getting an IV bag the first couple full moons.”

Vera’s mouth twitched down in a frown. “That sounds like the spell was taking quite a toll on you when you were using it on just one person. I don’t like the idea of you harming yourself just to help the others,” she said. Vera reached forward and patted Stiles’s arm. “We’ve been training young wolves without magic for generations, we can just as easily do it again with these three.”

Stiles took a minute to sort through his emotions before he responded. “I know you can do it,” he said carefully. “And I fully respect your werewolfly wisdom.” That got a snort out of Laura. “But, I was there when Scott had his first full moon, and it’s not something you can really mentally prepare for. Scott’s pretty mild mannered and even he freaked out before I got to him. And I can’t imagine Ennis gave them a very good impression of what it means to be a werewolf.” Stiles met Vera’s gaze with as much determination as he could muster. “If I can do something to ease them through this, I think it’s worth a little extra sleep and coffee, don’t you?”

Vera smiled at him and it reminded him so much of the times he’d sit at this table with her, Talia, and his mother. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and looked away. Talia’s hand rested on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Alright, Stiles,” she said softly. “Just don’t overdo it. Let us know if you need to take a break. No one will think less of you if you can’t hold the spells for the entire weekend.”

Stiles shrugged and waved a hand as if to dismiss her concern. “Deaton said that I essentially doubled by magical potential with all the magic I used in the rescue thing, so I should be good.” He shrugged again. “Apparently the way to get stronger is to use magic til I’m exhausted, so I suppose you could call this training for me.” Stiles took another couple bites of his eggs before he looked around. Dinner yesterday had been such a crowded affair that it was odd to only have four Hales in the room with him. He hadn’t seen any of the others this morning either.

“Where is the wonder trio anyways?” he asked. Stiles turned his attention inwards for a second. “All I get is a sense of calm vaguely that a way.” He waved a hand in the general direction of the back yard.

Talia smiled at him before leaning back against the kitchen counter. “Derek and David took them into the woods to work on tracking and identifying scents.”

That… actually sounded kind of interesting and useful. Stiles nodded and turned back to the plate of food. Once he was almost done, he looked up as if he could see the rest of the occupants of the house. “Is Peter around?” he asked.

Laura cocked her head to the side as if listening. “He says if you’re going back to reading in the library, he’ll join you shortly.”

Stiles smiled. Werewolf hearing seemed like it could be pretty useful. He gathered up his plate and walked over to put it in the sink with the others there. “That was my plan.” He topped off his coffee and then made his way down the hall to the library. Stiles breathed in the scent of leather and old books as he stepped inside. He relaxed back in the chair he’d used yesterday with the book in his lap and sipped at his coffee. A few minutes passed. Then, Peter slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. Peter carried two water bottles which he sat on the table within Stiles's reach before sitting down. Stiles cracked open the book and began to read.

He barely even noticed the door opening. He assumed it was just Peter grabbing something from the kitchen. Stiles didn’t even pause his reading, knowing that Peter could hear him from anywhere in the house. He jumped in surprise when a plate of sandwiches appeared between him and the pages of the book. Stiles looked up at Cora, who was holding plate. He carefully took it from her and set it on the table. Cora gave him an unimpressed look and cleared her throat when he looked back down at the book. 

“Mom says you're to take a break and eat or I’m to hide the book until after dinner. Your choice,” Cora informed him.

Stiles let out a sigh at the interruption, but marked his place and set the book aside. “I'm eating.” He grabbed the top sandwich on the plate and took an exaggerated bite.

“No plate for me, darling niece?” Peter asked with a grin.

Cora snorted. “You can get your own.” She turned with a flip of her hair and stalked out of the room. Peter just chuckled at that and sauntered after her. 

Once he started eating, Stiles found that he was actually pretty hungry. He downed the rest of his coffee and half of a bottle of water in between bites of sandwiches. He finished off all five of the sandwiches Cora had brought him. As he gathered up his plate and mug, he considered getting another sandwich, but decided on more coffee instead. He heard voices from the dining room, but bypassed them to the empty kitchen instead. Stiles set his plate in the sink. He wandered to the bathroom, then back into the kitchen. He poured himself another cup of coffee from what appeared to be a fresh pot. As he wandered back into the library, he considered what kind of baked goods he should make for whoever was keeping the coffee flowing for him. Probably Talia, he reasoned. 

Stiles settled back into the chair, but left the book closed. He waited until Peter came back into the room before cracking the book open and picking up where he left off. The book had moved from theoretical discussions of ley lines into the theories of elemental magic. Stiles found the ways the elements worked together or in opposition fascinating. The writer even gave descriptions of the different magical creatures that were related to the elements, like nymphs and salamanders and faeries. Apparently they could be relied on to help magic users that befriended them and in turn boosted the magic user’s affinity to their corresponding element. Then the writer tied all of that back into the ley line discussion by talking about the ways those creatures depended on the ley lines and how the magical health of the area affected them. It was kind of mind blowing. He wanted to talk about it with Deaton, but at the same time he didn’t want to stop reading.

Talia came into the library again and pulled him away from the book for dinner. She gave him a look that did not invite argument as she herded him out and into the dining room. 

Scott spotted him immediately and motioned for Stiles to take the empty seat next to him. Erica smiled at him from his other side as she passed him a basket of garlic bread. Scott launched into a detailed recap of all the things they had done during the day while Stiles loaded his plate with spaghetti, meatballs, and salad. Stiles nodded in the appropriate parts as he shoveled food into his face. Yes, it was cool that he could now tell the scent of a deer from a rabbit. Yes, it was neat that emotions gave off different scents. Yes, Allison would be very impressed with his new found skills. Of course, it was sad that her dad wouldn't let her join them this weekend. He hummed his agreement that yes, maybe her dad would let her come next time.

Scott ran out of things to say as Stiles was loading up his plate a second time. Laura jumped on the opening, “So, Stiles, what has got you and Peter so engrossed in the library? Should Sara be worried about you stealing her husband away?”

Stiles snorted. He swallowed the food in his mouth and wiped his face with his napkin before looking up. “You have magic books in the library,” Stiles pointed out as he met Laura’s gaze. “Literally magical books with runes worked into each and every page to prevent anyone who doesn’t have magic from reading them.” He flailed his arms as if to express the impressiveness of that and just barely managed hitting Scott and Erica. He pulled his arms back in at Erica’s glare. 

Laura cocked her head to the side. “You mean the gibberish books?” She directed the question at Peter. Her eyebrows rose when he nodded. “Huh.” She took a bite of garlic bread and seemed to think about that. “So what are they about?”

Stiles took a drink of his coffee and shrugged. “Not sure about all of them. I just picked one at random. It’s about ley lines and elemental magic. Theoretical stuff, not actual spells or anything like that.”

Sara let out a laugh from beside Peter. She grinned at her husband as she nudged him. “That sounds like it’s right up Peter’s alley. No wonder he’s abandoned us.” Sara leaned over to kiss Peter’s cheek when he shot her an affronted look. “I suppose I can share for awhile. There’s only, what, five of those books in the library?”

Stiles thought back to the shelf. “There were twelve that felt magical,” he said, “but I only opened the one so there might be different spells on the others.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “There are seven that can’t be read.” His expression grew thoughtful. “Do you think you can tell what enchantment is on the other books?”

Before Stiles could respond Talia held a hand up. “Tomorrow,” she said firmly. “I think you need to take a break from books for the night.” She turned to look at Stiles and the others with a warm smile. “Not all packs celebrate the full moons the same way, but we’ve always made a point of spending the evening of together when we can.”

Cora grinned from beside Laura. “Winter months mean movie marathons.”

Laura nudged her with an elbow. “I prefer when it’s warm enough to go running at night.”

“Or the bonfires in the summer,” Albert said from beside his mother. 

Stiles felt himself smiling as the Hales explained some of their family traditions to the new members of the pack. He got a sense of excitement and contentment from down his links to Erica, Boyd, and Isaac. Stiles glanced up at them and saw them listening with interest. Considering Isaac’s only living family member had apparently been a horrible human being, Boyd had so many siblings he was easily overlooked, and Erica had been trapped inside by her epilepsy, he could understand how they would thrive as part of the very active and social Hale pack. He made a mental note to pull Derek aside when they were out of earshot at explain to him their traumas. Stiles glanced over at Scott. He should probably mention Scott’s issues with authority as well. He felt a kind of potential in their pack within a pack and an urge to make sure that they thrived, kind of like they were his responsibility as much as Derek’s. 

He was still adjusting to the strange feeling of responsibility for someone not Scott or his dad when Scott pulled him into the living room and settled him on one of the couches beside him. Isaac sat on Scott’s other side with Cora squeezing in beside him. Slowly the Hales filtered into the room and a movie was turned on. Stiles let himself relax into the couch. He quickly became sucked into the movie as the Avengers played on the screen. 

Halfway through the movie the younger wolves in the room tensed. Stiles felt an odd sensation three times down the bonds, as if something cold yet comforting had washed over his skin. It sent a shiver down his spine. It also made Isaac, Erica, and Boyd’s heart rates skyrocket. Stiles glanced out the window and saw that night had fallen, but there was still a decent amount of light. The full moon had risen. “Oh,” he said intelligently. His magic was drawing all of his attention as it flowed down the bonds. 

Stiles stumbled to his feet. He grabbed the pillow that he’d been leaning against absently as he looked around the room. Pretty much every surface was filled with someone, though they were now looking at him. Stiles stumbled over legs and torsos as he made his way across the room to an empty corner where he’d be out of the way. He dropped the pillow onto the floor before following it down to sit cross legged. He couldn’t see the TV anymore, but he wouldn’t be watching anyways. Stiles dropped down into a trance with the ease of much practice. His body sagged back against the walls behind him and his head lulled. Distantly he felt his magic race down the bonds. There were answering waves of relief as Erica, Isaac, and Boyd regained their control. He thought he heard Scott say his name, but it was lost in the sea of calm that surrounded him. 

When Stiles opened his eyes again, he was lying on the bed in the guest room. It took him a couple tries to flail his way out of bed and across the hall into the bathroom. A blast of cold water startled him awake enough to clean himself off. He toweled himself dry and fumbled into his clothing. It was a miracle he didn’t break his neck in his attempt to go down the stairs. 

There were voices and the smell of food coming from the dining room. Scott poked his head out of the room and smiled when he saw Stiles. “Hey!” Scott greeted, entirely too cheerful for whatever time it was. “There’s lunch in the dining room, if you’re hungry.”

Stiles walked right into Scott and draped himself on the werewolf, too tired to hold himself upright any longer. He grunted and waved his arm vaguely in the direction of the kitchen and coffee.

Scott seemed to get the message because he merely laughed and turned down the hallway, dragging Stiles along with him effortlessly. Stiles was suddenly very glad for Scott’s new werewolf strength. There were people in the kitchen who attempted to talk to him, but their words were lost in the siren call of the scent of a brewing pot of coffee. Stiles grabbed a mug and in a ninja like move swapped in in place of the pot mid-stream. Once full, he swapped the pot back. He took his hand off the coffee pot long enough to magically cool his coffee. Stiles vaguely heard someone make a noise of protest as he started drinking. Someone reached for his cup, but he grumbled and turned away.

“Stiles,” Talia barked. Her voice broke through his exhaustion enough for him to look up, though he didn’t stop drinking. “You’re going to burn your throat.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes and wiggled his fingers in a way that he hoped conveyed what he had done. She did not look impressed. “Stiles learned how to cool coffee with magic,” Scott translated. Stiles pointed in Scott’s direction and nodded before turning back to the pot to fill his cup up a second time. The coffee finished brewing halfway through the cup so he just tipped the pot to finish filling his cup. He drank three more cups before he felt awake enough to function. Stiles filled his cup up one more time, which effectively killed off the last of the coffee. He blinked at the empty pot as the last drops fell into his cup.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly to Talia. “I can make more.” He started to look around for the coffee grounds, but Talia just patted his shoulder and shooed him aside.

“Don’t worry about it,” Talia said. She pulled a package of coffee out from a cabinet and moved over to the machine to start a new pot. “The coffee was for you anyways.” Stiles blushed and covered by taking a sip of coffee. “Go get some lunch,” Talia said. “I’ll be there in a minute.” 

Stiles nodded again and followed Scott through the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. Once more there was a spot saved for him next to Scott. The others greeted him with warm smiles. Erica looked up at him and a wave of relief came through the bond. She punched Stiles on the arm as he passed. “Warn us before you pass out next time,” Erica said. 

“Ow,” Stiles replied, rubbing at his arm. Thankfully she hadn’t used her full werewolf strength, but the punch still stung. “Fragile human here.” He slumped down into the seat between Scott and Boyd and started to load his plate with a couple hot dogs and hamburgers. “Besides,” he said as he accepted the relish from Scott, “I didn’t pass out. I went into a trance and then fell asleep. There’s a difference.” Boyd chuckled at Stiles shot him a look before passing the relish on and taking the ketchup that Scott handed him. 

“Pretty sure you passed out,” Cora said, teasingly from directly across the table.

Stiles shot her an affronted glare. “No,” he replied firmly. “Passing out is involuntary, trances are completely voluntary.” Cora continued to look skeptical. Stiles set down the ketchup and rested his hands in his lap. He closed his eyes and dropped into a trance. Scott’s quick reflexes saved him from faceplanting into his plate. He distantly felt Scott’s hand on his chest, keeping him upright. He allowed himself a minute to check on the bonds before coming back up again. Stiles blinked his eyes open and then continued to pour ketchup on his hot dogs. “See.” Scott patted him on the shoulder in a way that suggested that his demonstration was not reassuring in the least. Stiles ignored him and continued to put together his hamburgers, taking a bite once he was satisfied with their toppings.

“Is it usual for magic users to be able to drop in and out of trances like that?” Nicholas asked from beside Cora. 

Stiles considered the question for a second, then shrugged. “No idea,” he admitted. “Deaton really pushed the meditation thing when I was working on shields and I kinda got used to dropping into a half trance when we were trying to figure out the aura thing.”

“Aura thing?” Laura asked, leaning forward like she knew this was going to lead to further amusement. Stiles resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was getting the feeling that Laura took far too much amusement in his abilities.

“Sometimes I can see auras around people, usually if they’re some kind of supernatural creature, though not always.” He waved a hand at the collected werewolves. “Those of you who are werewolves have auras of wolves.” He waved a hand at Isaac, Boyd, and Erica. “They all had faint werewolf auras before they were bitten.” He turned and jabbed Boyd in the side with a finger. “Which is why I warned you not to go wandering off into the woods.” Boyd just shrugged at him.

“What do the auras look like?” Talia asked, breaking off the conversation she had been having with her husband as the whole table turned their attention to him. 

Stiles dropped into his half-trance and looked around the table. “Brown wolf with gold eyes,” he said pointing to Scott. He tilted his head as he looked at Isaac on Scott’s other side. “Reddish wolf with gold eyes.” Beside him was Vera, “Grey wolf with eyes that are both red and gold.” Beside her was Veronica, “Nothing,” then Laura, “Black wolf with red and gold eyes.” He continued like that around the table until he got back to Boyd.

“That’s very interesting,” Peter said, leaning forward. “You said you’ve seen other creature’s auras as well?”

“Yeah, though neither Deaton or I have been able to figure out what most of them mean.” He let out a long sigh. “I mean one of our teachers has a faint grey aura and he’s completely human as far as I can tell. Then there’s a red aura I’ve seen on a couple of people, including the Argents.” Stiles paused as his stomach dropped. Something in his scent must have given him away because the werewolves tensed. He turned quickly to look at Talia. “Stay away from Gerard Argent,” he warned. “His aura…” He shuddered and snapped his mouth closed when his stomach roiled. His mind started to picture the aura and the faces, the ghosts. Stiles shook his head quickly to clear it. “Evil,” he stated when he got his voice back. “Pure evil.”

“Don’t worry, Stiles,” Talia said softly. There was a hint of iron in her voice though. “We’re well aware of the things that Gerard has done.”

Everyone shifted uncomfortably for a minute before Cora turned to Erica. “Laura and I were thinking of going to the mall next weekend if you’d like to come along? I think you mentioned wanting to get some new clothes?” 

Conversation picked back up slowly until it resumed the boisterous level that he was used to. Stiles let the sound wash over him as he started back in on his food. His jaw cracked on a yawn and he took another sip of coffee. Stiles kept his attention on his food until his hunger faded. He leaned back in his chair for a minute to digest before rising with the others to help clear the table. He followed a stream of Hales into the kitchen before being shooed out while Mark and Laura did the dishes. 

Stiles wandered outside where Scott and the others were working with Derek on controlling their strength. It looked like they were going to be heading back into the woods soon, so Stiles went back inside. He found himself wandering into the library again. Peter wasn’t there yet, so Stiles looked over the other books that were magical. He pulled all of them out and moved them over to the desk. His vision unfocused as he flipped through the pages. He set aside the ones with the same runes as the one he was reading, the ones that probably appeared to be gibberish to the others. 

“Are these the magical books?” Peter asked as he stepped up beside Stiles, startling him. He smirked at the glare Stiles shot him and picked up one of the other books, flipping through.

Stiles let his eyes unfocus as he flipped through the books. “Preservation spells, I think,” he said, setting aside three more books. He picked up the remaining two and flipped through the first one. He set the other one down as he focused on the one in his hands. “There’s writing overlaid on some of the pages,” he said aloud. He blinked and looked at the page with normal vision. It was describing different species of plants that could be used in spell casting. Stiles unfocused his eyes again. His fingers traced the words hidden on the page. “It’s a spell,” he said with a bit of surprise. He flipped through the pages until he found the next one with hidden writing and the next. “There are spells hidden in the pages. Like, Druid type spells with herbs and such. Maybe to make potions?” He set the book down and grabbed the other one. “It’s the same.” He looked up at Peter with wide eyes. “Can I borrow these?”

Peter chuckled and nodded. He picked up the ones with preservation spells and reshelved them. “Help yourself,” Peter said. He nodded to the magical book by where they were sitting. “Shall we finish the book?”

Stiles cast one last glance at the other books, but nodded. Peter had already set a bottle of water on Stiles’s side of the little table. Stiles took a long drink before opening the book and starting to read. It seemed like only minutes later before he was turning the last page. Stiles set down the book reluctantly. Peter seemed equally disappointed as he leaned back. Stiles’s mind was whirling as he digested the information that he’d just read. 

“And what is on your mind, little mageling?” Peter’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. 

“Spark, not mage,” Stiles corrected. He glanced over at Peter and saw the man watching him with intense curiosity. Stiles hesitated, trying to get his thoughts in order. His gaze drifted out to the books around them. It seemed like Peter had read most of them. He certainly seemed more knowledgeable about magical theory than Stiles was, for all that he couldn’t actually use magic. “Do you think it’s possible to tap into the ley lines? To draw power from them?”

Peter hummed thoughtfully, drawing Stiles’s eyes back to him. “For the average magic user, probably not,” Peter replied. He leaned back in his chair and his eyes turned serious. “Most wouldn’t be able to handle that much power. Even if they could access it, they would burn out before they could harness it.” Stiles winced at the thought. “But,” Peter continued thoughtfully, “I’ve heard of some who can, powerful Druids and Mages. Beacon Hills has always drawn people like that because of the power of our ley lines.” Peter turned to consider Stiles. “For a Spark, like you, I think it’s well within the possible. Maybe not yet, but when you finish growing into your power.” Peter shrugged.

Stiles nodded as he set the book aside. He leaned back in the chair. “Do you think the elemental creatures that the book talks about are still around?” He lifted a hand and a tiny flame flickered above it for a moment before winking out again. “I think I’ve always had an affinity to the elements,” he admitted softly. “I remember seeing creatures in the woods as a kid. I think they might have been slyphs and fauns.” He turned to look at Peter when the man shifted in his chair. Peter looked surprised, then thoughtful. 

“I suppose it’s possible,” he admitted. “Mom always said that we weren’t the only ones in the forest, but nothing like that has been seen for a long time.” Peter grinned over at him. “Should you find one, do let me know. I would love to meet an Elemental.”

Stiles couldn’t help grinning back at him. He stood from the chair, stretching out his back. A sudden wave of dizziness came over him and he slumped back down. His vision went blurry for a second, then Peter was there looking at him worriedly. “I’m fine,” he said, batting away Peter’s hand. “I just stood up too fast.” He pushed to his feet again when the dizziness passed. Stiles ignored Peter’s pointed look as he replaced the book they’d been reading on the shelf. He scooped up the two spell books and climbed the stairs to stash them with his things. 

While he was upstairs, he took the opportunity to gather up his clothing and shove it back in his bag. Scott’s things were still spread over the sleeping bag, so Stiles packed his bag as well. He rolled up the sleeping bag and set it on the bed. Stiles took one last glance around the room to make sure he’d gotten everything before closing the door after himself. He took both bags downstairs with him. The sun was warm on his skin when he stepped out onto the front porch. Stiles stashed their bags in the back of his Jeep and then lingered for a moment. He heard the sounds coming from the back yard, so he wandered in that direction. 

When he circled the side of the house, he found Derek and the others wrestling around in the grass. It looked like they were practicing some kind of combat, but mostly it seemed that the newly-turned betas were getting tossed around by the Hales. Stiles couldn’t resist snorting when Scott went flying. Scott recovered quickly enough. He rolled with the throw and came back up ready to launch himself back at Derek. Stiles glanced over at Erica, Boyd, and Isaac. They were panting slightly, but he only sensed calm determination and a little bit of excitement coming from the bonds. He settled down in a sunny spot with his back against a tree to watch. 

He must have dozed off because it seemed like moments later that Scott was shaking him awake and then herding him inside. Talia handed Stiles a mug of coffee as he passed through the kitchen, which Stiles accepted with a smile. He sipped at the coffee while the others filtered into the room and filled the huge table in the dining room. Talia and David came in carrying huge platters of grilled chicken and steaks while Vera and Laura followed with bowls of vegetables. 

Stiles let the conversation drift around him as he loaded up his plate. He smiled at the first bite of garlic mashed potatoes and was in heaven when he bit into the steak he’d selected. He wasn’t sure if it was a full moon thing or just a werewolf thing, but the Hales seemed to cook a lot of meat, and they did it well. He would just have to remember not to mention the steaks to his dad so Noah didn’t try to arrange an invitation for the next full moon. 

After dinner, Isaac, Boyd, and Erica ran upstairs to pack up their things before they headed to their respective homes to get ready for school the next day. Stiles was about to head out onto the porch when Scott pulled him aside. “Keys,” Scott said, holding out a hand.

Stiles grumbled, but passed over the keys to the Jeep. He really shouldn’t be driving with how tired he was. He’d barely let go of the keys when he was yanked forward and aggressively hugged. Stiles shook Laura’s hair from his face and patted her on the back. He tensed slightly when she rubbed her cheek over his. Scent marking, he realized as she pulled away with a wicked grin.

“Don’t be a stranger, Stiles,” she said before moving on to attack Scott with a hug.

Stiles shook his head, but couldn’t help smiling a bit. Talia and Vera were the next out onto the porch. They hugged him too, though less enthusiastically. Talia cupped the back of his neck as she drew away. “You’re welcome to join us on any of the full moons,” she said with a warm smile, “though I don’t think we’ll need your spell next time.” She cast a glance over at Peter. “And you’re welcome to use the library any time.”

“I’ll likely take you up on that,” Stiles replied. He couldn’t help grinning at the thought of all of those books. Talia just smiled at him, but didn’t comment.

Soon enough Erica, Isaac, and Boyd joined them on the porch. There was a bit of chaos as they were shuffled between the Hales for hugs. Stiles carefully moved to the edge of the porch where he was out of the way of the hug fest. Finally, the majority of the Hales slipped back inside leaving only Talia, Peter, Laura, and Derek on the porch. Derek wasn’t quite a hugger, but he did clap each of the betas on their shoulder in his own show of scent marking.

“Do you need to do anything special to release the spell?” Erica asked, drawing Stiles’s attention.

Stiles waved a hand at her. “Nah, it’s easy.” He closed his eyes and released the spells one by one. He swayed a little as he adjusted to the sudden emptiness inside of him. He felt Scott’s hand on his back, but was able to shake it off after a moment. “I’m fine,” he said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. “Just takes a bit of adjusting.” He waved a hand at his head. “It’s all roomy up in here now.” Anything further was interrupted by a jaw cracking yawn.

Scott leaned towards Isaac, who was looking a little worried. “Don’t worry, I already got the keys,” he said in a not so subtle whisper. 

Stiles shot them both an affronted look before shooing them off the porch. “I could have managed,” he grumbled. “Now come on, my bed is calling and I don’t think the Hales want to have to feed me again.”

He heard a chuckle come from behind him as he herded Isaac and Scott over to the Jeep. Laura followed after them, climbing into a sleek black Camaro to take Erica and Boyd home. Stiles waved a sleepy goodbye to the remaining Hales as the house fell away into the trees. He turned to look at Isaac and Scott. “So, good first full moon with the pack?”

Scott glanced over at him briefly, a small smile forming on his face. “Yeah. It was nice.”

“Definitely an improvement on the previous ones,” Isaac said from the back.

Stiles snorted. “Yeah, I can imagine grilled steaks and movie marathons is an improvement over being stuck in a cave with a psychopath.” He turned to look over his shoulder at Isaac. “I can reactivate the spell at any time, so if you start to feel your control slipping at school, just come find me. Let Erica and Boyd know the offer is open for them too, please.”

Isaac nodded. “Will do.”

Stiles turned back to the front and watched as the forest thinned. His eyes slipped closed as they turned onto the main road. “Just going to take a little nap,” he muttered as his head sagged to rest on the window. “Wake me when we get there.” He breathed out a sigh and slipped into sleep.

*************

Stiles blinked awake as he heard an unexpected noise. He lay still for a moment as his tired brain tried to process the noise. His magic surged to his fingertips, ready to protect him if it was a threat. He heard the thud of feet landing on his floor. Stiles lifted his head. It took a minute for his vision to focus on the figure approaching his bed. “Derek?” he asked when the figure stopped moving. “What’re you doing here?” Or at least that’s what he meant to say. They came out a little slurred.

Derek sank down to sit on the edge of Stiles’s bed. He carefully pressed a hand to Stiles’s forehead as if feeling for a fever. He actually kind of looked worried. “You weren’t at school today,” Derek said softly. “The others were worried.”

Stiles let out a tired laugh. He sank back down into his pillows. “Just tired,” he mumbled. He could feel himself starting to drift off to sleep. “Always like this after the spell. Just ask Scott.”

A sharp finger poked Stiles in the rib. He grumbled and batted at it. It didn’t stop until he opened his eyes again. “Scott was worried too,” Derek said. He considered Stiles for a long moment. “When was the last time you ate?” 

He had to think about that for a minute. He remembered Scott driving him home last night. He’d raided the fridge as soon as he got in, shoving as much food into his body as he could before coming upstairs and passing out. “Last night,” he admitted.

Derek muttered something rude and then his weight shifted off the bed. Stiles let his body relax back into the bed. No offending finger came to poke him awake and he drifted back to sleep. It didn’t seem like very long at all before someone was shaking him awake again. Stiles whined and tried to roll over, but the person was insistent. He opened his eyes to glare up at Derek. The werewolf didn’t seem at all repentant. He pulled down Stiles’s covers despite his protests. Derek’s hands slid under Stiles’s armpits. He picked Stiles up and set him back down so that he was propped up against the headboard. 

It took Stiles’s brain a few minutes to catch up with his sudden change in position. He watched in confusion as Derek sat down at the edge of the bed again. There was the crinkle of a plastic bag and then the sound of a can being popped open. Derek held some kind of canned beverage out to him. Stiles tried to take the can from him, but his mind was too foggy with sleep to get his muscles to work properly. The can almost slipped through his fingers. Only Derek’s quick reflexes kept him from wearing whatever was in the can. The man grumbled, but moved closer. He held the can up to Stiles’s lips and glared until Stiles opened his mouth to take a drink.

Stiles spluttered at the taste of the thick liquid. He tried to turn his head away, but Derek’s free hand caught his jaw. He flashed red eyes at Stiles and stared him down until Stiles opened his mouth again. Derek didn’t let him go until he’d finished the whole can. Stiles licked his lips and swallowed repeatedly, but he couldn’t seem to get the taste out of his mouth. “What was that?” he asked.

Derek snorted. “Boost,” he replied. He easily tossed the empty can into the garbage can across the room. Derek pulled the remaining pack of the cans out of the bag at his feet and set them down on Stiles’s nightstand. “I didn’t think you’d be awake enough to chew without choking, so this way you at least get some nutrients.” He held up his phone and waved it at Stiles. There was a text message there, but Stiles couldn’t focus his eyes enough to read the message. “I texted the pack to let them know why you weren’t at school,” Derek said before tucking the phone away again. “I expect at least one of them will be over later to make sure you keep drinking those.” He nodded towards the unopened cans.

Stiles grumbled and slid back down the bed. He assumed that now that Derek had forced something food-like down his throat he could go back to sleep. He supposed he should be grateful for the care. “Thanks,” he mumbled as he sank back down into the pillows. “You’re a good Alpha.” Stiles wasn’t sure where that came from, but he wasn’t awake enough to really control what came out of his mouth right now. He should probably warn the others about his lack of filter if they were coming over. He turned his head to look at his phone, all the way on his nightstand. Too much effort. He burrowed into his blankets instead.

“You know, I had your family pegged as supernatural creatures since I was a kid,” he told Derek sleepily. Derek paused where he had been starting to rise from the bed. He sank back down and looked at Stiles curiously. Or, at least, he thought Derek looked curious. His vision was going hazy again so it was hard to tell. “Never guessed werewolves though.”

Derek snorted. “What did you think we were?” he asked. His voice definitely sounded amused.

Stiles smiled even as his eyes drifted closed. “You know, I never could settle on one thing. Just was always certain that your family was special, with your huge house out in the middle of the woods. It’s like something out of a fairytale.” His jaw cracked on a yawn. “Just wasn’t the kind of fairytale that I thought it would be.”

“Oh?” Derek’s voice was soft, growing more distant with each moment. “What kind of fairy tale is it?”

“A horror story,” he said, thinking back to Ennis and all the dead bodies, “but one where the good guys win. Terrifying and filled with panic, misdirection, and mystery.” He was silent for a long minute. He felt the bed shifting. “Yet, it kind of turned out awesome in the end.” If Derek said anything, Stiles didn’t hear it. He was already drifting off to sleep again.


End file.
